


Two of a kind

by wishfulwriter



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV), The Originals (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2018-09-28 11:43:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 24,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10099127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wishfulwriter/pseuds/wishfulwriter
Summary: The Mikaelsons are the oldest and most powerful vampires in the world. The Shelby family is quite young compared to them, but they have quickly made a name for themselves as the climbed up the food chain. What happens when the two families are brought together by a mutual 'friend'?Or The Originals/Peaky Blinders crossover no one asked for.





	1. Prologue

Emily furrows her eyebrows when she walks in and the room is a mess; the furniture is scattered around and there’s broken glass on the floor. She travelled all the way from Europe where she had been calling Birmingham home for quite some time now. She ended up there during the First World War after she left New Orleans and the Mikaelsons behind. In Birmingham she met Polly Gray who was running a betting shop by herself, because her nephews were at the warfront in France. She earned Polly’s trust and helped her with the shop as much as she could. The brothers were unsure about her presence at first, but soon enough she earned her place in their family. The family got into trouble that was too much for them to handle and they were all on the brink of death. Emily couldn’t bear to watch any of them die so she had someone turn them; made them drink vampire blood before they went into the gang-war that had taken shape. She however underestimated the enemy and didn’t think to give any blood to Linda, Esmee, Charlie, Carl or John’s children because she expected them to be safe at home. They weren’t, and losing them had been a burden Emily carried with her for almost a hundred years now. When she found out what was going on with the Mikaelsons, she felt like she had to go over there to see what she could do. She told the Shelby’s that she had some business to take care of and left for New Orleans. The Shelby family had gotten a bit restless lately; they wanted a change after staying in the same place for over a hundred years, but Emily did not want to take the risk that came with bringing them to New Orleans and introducing them to the Mikaelsons.

“Emily?” She hears a familiar voice say. It’s not the voice she is looking for, but a welcome one none the less. When Emily turns around she if faced by her old friend, with a surprised look on his face that slowly turns into a smile.

“Marcel.” She smiles as she steps towards him and pulls him into a hug. “I missed you.” She breaths out against his shoulder. Marcel and Emily were close from the beginning; she had been standing next to Niklaus when he watched Marcel get beaten and instantly felt the need to protect him. When he became older Marcel took the role of protector himself and she had become one of his closest friends.

“I missed you too.” He answers as he pulls her close. “You didn’t tell me you were coming.” He adds when they pull away. The two had kept in touch after Emily left; after all it wasn’t Marcel’s fault. He asked her to come back to New Orleans after Mikael had chased his children away, but she was already too involved with the Shelby family by then.

“And you didn’t tell me there was a war going on here.” Emily raises her eyebrows at Marcel.

“You’ve fought enough wars for the Mikaelsons; I though you deserved to sit this one out.” He jokes.

“I appreciate the thought, but as always it seems like you’re making a mess of everything without me.” She smirks as she points at the room around her.

“Yeah.” Marcel chuckles. “Finn and Kol had a bit of a disagreement; you know how they are.” He says as he shrugs.

“Not much has changed since you left, love.” The voice she had been looking for speaks from above her and she raises her head to find Niklaus leaning on the railing as he looks down at her and Marcel. “What? No hug for me?” He smiles down at her.


	2. Reunions

“Niklaus.” Emily states as she looks up at the man she shared a home with for hundreds of years. “I heard you needed some help.” She raises her eyebrows as she places her right hand on her hip.

“Sadly, yes.” Elijah says as he appears from behind Niklaus. “It’s good to see you again Emily; I just wish it were under better circumstances.” Elijah smiles as he walks down the stairs and pulls Emily into a hug.

“It’s good to see you too Elijah.” Emily smiles as she hugs him back. “It’s been far too long.”

“Who is she?” An unfamiliar voice sounds and Emily pulls away from Elijah to see the source. A blond woman stands next to Niklaus.

“Freya, I assume.” Emily says and the woman, Freya, nods. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Emilia Eriksson, but please call me Emily.”

“Emily is an old friend of the family, sister.” Elijah adds. “She’s here to help; we can trust her.”

“Well, that’s up for discussion.” Niklaus says as he starts to walk down followed by Freya. “After all she left us before.” He states as he reaches the bottom of the stairs.

“I didn’t leave Niklaus.” Emily answers as she looks straight at him. “You chased me away.” Emily and Niklaus continue to stare at each other and to Emily’s surprise Niklaus is the first to look down, but she is quick to cover up her surprise. “So, would you mind giving me a summary?” She asks as she turns to Elijah.

“Right.” Elijah says as his eyes shift from Niklaus to Emily. “We seem to have made an enemy when we were in South America; Pablo Hernandez and his sister Gabriella are out for revenge, because Niklaus and Kol decided to turn them but not their little brother.” Elijah starts. “It seems we underestimated them; they have found a cure to werewolf bites and have a hoard of witches at their disposal, making it almost impossible for us to get rid of them. At the moment we’re at the brink of war.” Emily nods, but her eyes, just like those of everyone else, go to the entrance when they heard a lot of noise. The noise is soon followed by Kol walking in with a boy.

“I found this one lur-“ Kol starts, but he cuts himself off when he sees Emily. “Emily; lovely to see you again, darling.”

“Hello Kol.” Emily smiles before she looks back at the boy. “I’ll take him from you.” She says as she takes the boy’s arm and Kol releases him. “What are you doing here?” She asks as she looks at him. “I’m not going to ask again Finn, what are you doing here?” She says to the boy.

“Everyone’s here.” Finn admits. “John and Arthur didn’t like the idea of you leaving on your own. Tommy said you could handle yourself, but they wouldn’t listen and he travelled after them to make sure they didn’t get themselves in trouble and then aunt Pol and Ada said they weren’t staying behind and brought me and Michael.” He explains.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Emily breaths out as she releases Finn and pinches the bridge of her nose.

“You know him?” Elijah asks.

“Yes.” Emily sighs as she turns to the others. “This,” She says as she gestures to Finn. “Is Finn Shelby, and I have a feeling you’ll meet the rest of the Shelby family soon enough.”

* * *

 

Emily and Finn make their way to a large house just outside of the French Quarter. Finn told her the rest of the family was staying there.

“Finn, is that you?” Arthur’s voice sounds. “Did you find out where she is?”

“She’s right here.” Emily says as she steps into the living room. Everyone seems taken back, but Tommy doesn’t even blink. “What are you all doing here? You have absolutely no idea what you walked into.” Emily says as she walks further into the room.

“That’s exactly why we’re here.” Arthur stands up. “You said it was dangerous, but you expected us to let you handle it on your own?” He spreads hi arms wide and leans forward a bit. “That’s not a family works Emily.”

“That’s right.” John chips in. “We don’t leave family to deal with dangerous situations on their own, so we’re here to help. So, tell us what’s going on.”

“There’s a war coming.” Finn speaks up. “That’s what I heard the man in the suit say.”

“The man in the suit is Elijah.” Emily send a slight glare to Finn, before she turns back to his older brothers. “And we’re going to do everything we can to avoid a war. I’m having dinner there tonight and we’ll figure out our next move.” Emily says and her eyes lock with Tommy’s before John snatches her attention away again.

“Well, we will come with you then.” He says as he stands up.

“You will not.” Emily says as she steps in front of John. “You have no idea how dangerous it can be to be associated with the Mikaelsons and I strongly advise you never to find out.” She says before she turns around and walks out of the room.

* * *

 

“Emily.” Tommy says as he stands in the doorway of the only empty bedroom that Emily dubbed her own. “Do you want me to come with you tonight?” He asks as he leans against the doorframe and looks at Emily who is standing in front of the window as she looks outside.

She turns to look at him. “Yes.” She sighs. “You’re good at strategies; we could use your help.” She says as she watches Tommy. “I’m taking you with me into the lion’s den; they won’t be happy that I brought you, especially Niklaus and Kol.” She closes her eyes and rubs her temples. “But I really don’t want to go alone; is that incredibly selfish of me?” She asks as she opens her eyes again only to see that Tommy is standing in front of her.

“You could use my help.” He says. “So, they’ll have to deal with it.” He adds.

* * *

 

Emily takes a deep breath as she stands in front of the Mikaelson house.

“It’ll be fine.” Tommy mutters as he places a hand on the small of her back and guides her inside.

“Emily!” Rebekah exclaims when she sees her long-lost friend. The two girls embrace each other and Elijah smiles slightly at the scene in front of him. Niklaus and Kol’s eyes are on the stranger that just walked into their home. “I heard you already met Freya. This is Hayley and that over there is Finn, but you’ve seen him before when he was in one of Nik’s boxes.” Rebekah says as she first gestures to a woman with brown hair and then to the oldest Mikaelson. “And who is that?” Rebekah asks when she spots Tommy behind Emily.

“Thomas Shelby.” He says as he reaches out his hand to Rebekah who shakes it as she looks the handsome stranger up and down. “Pleasure to meet you.”

“Thomas was a good strategist during the First World War and he has since then proven his abilities time and time again; I figured he could help.” Emily explains the rest of the Mikaelsons. “You can fully trust him; we’re practically family.”

“Very well then.” Elijah says as he walks closer and shakes Tommy’s hand. “Shall we sit down?” He asks before he leads the way to the table.

Tommy pulls out a chair for Emily and he leans down to whisper in her ear. “So far so good.” He says in Roma, which causes Emily to smile and Niklaus to frown.


	3. Old wounds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The italic text is a flashback she tells Tommy

New Orleans, present day.

“You said they had witches at their disposal?” Emily asks Elijah before she takes a sip of her wine.

“Yes.” He says as he puts his cutlery down. “They created a coven around them, sort of like the Strix. The tense situation in the quarter isn’t doing much in our favor either, since the witches of New Orleans still feel a lot of, well let’s say resentment, towards the vampires and werewolves.” He explains.

“So, there’s the situation.” Niklaus smirks as he leans his elbows on the table. “I expect your friend has a solution, otherwise his attendance at this dinner is quite useless.” He adds as he looks at Tommy.

Tommy however is not impressed and moves his eyes from Niklaus to Elijah when he starts to talk. “I think the first thing you need to do is, make sure the witches won’t be tempted to join this coven.”

“And how do you suggest we do that?” Kol speaks up. “We can’t exactly ask them to join us.”

Tommy turns his face to Kol. “They don’t have to join you, as long as they don’t join your enemy everything is fine.” He explains. “You need to find a way to force the coven to make a move against the New Orleans witches; the bloodier, the better.” Tommy adds before he takes another bite.

Niklaus opens his mouth to protest, but Elijah speaks up first. “Sounds like a plan to your liking brother.” He says as he turns to Niklaus.

“Won’t that cause trouble for Marcel?” Emily asks. “Doesn’t he have friends among the witches? Or at least allies?” She wonders out loud.

“Oh yes, your precious little Marcel.” Niklaus starts as he leans back in his chair. “Don’t mind the fact that the family you lived with for centuries is under threat, we wouldn’t want Marcel to lose an ally.” He remarks; sarcasm dripping from every word.

“Marcel is like a son to me, Niklaus.” Emily says as she leans forward a little. “I thought you of all people would share my feelings about him, but I forgot that your heart has been dead for a long time.” Niklaus tries to speak, but Emily goes on. “You know, the moment I saw your face today I regretted coming here. You can ask Tommy; I’ve been dreading this dinner.” She says as she gestures to her friend, who has already registered every possible exit in case things go wrong, but as always Tommy keeps his remarkable poker-face up. “The only reason I came is out of love and respect for Kol, Rebekah and Elijah, and if you think for a moment that you can push me around again I will be out the door faster than even you can run, Niklaus.” Emily finishes as she stands up and walks out of the room, soon followed by Tommy.

“Nik!” Rebekah exclaims. “Was that necessary?” She asks as she lets herself fall back in her seat. “We finally had her back after a century and you have to ruin it by refusing to see your own mistakes.”

“Well, I am sorry that I was a bit hard on your friend, sister.” Niklaus says as he stands up. “But she has left us before and she will most likely leave us again; I just slightly sped up the process.”

“Oh please, Nik.” Rebekah stands up as well. “She stayed with us for centuries through everything and would have never left us if it wasn’t for you. You are just once again afraid of being left behind so you push her away, but you loved her for centuries. That doesn’t just go away, no matter how hard you try to push her.”

* * *

“Where are we?” Tommy furrows his eyebrows after Emily stops at a building after going in a completely different direction than where they came from.

“We’re at Marcel’s.” Emily says as she glances at Tommy over her shoulder. “I think the two of you will get along better than you and Nik.” She adds before she walks into the building.

“Emily.” Marcel says as he looks up from his book. “And a friend?” He raises his eyebrows as he looks at Tommy.

“Thomas Shelby.” Tommy holds out his hand and after sharing a look with Emily Marcel shakes it.

“The famous Thomas Shelby.” Marcel smiles before he turns around to pour them a drink. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Likewise.” Tommy says as he accepts the drink. “She never told me about the rest of the adoptive family, though.” He remarks as he looks at Emily.

“Some things are better left in the past.” Emily says as she takes the drink from Marcel and takes a seat.

“I couldn’t agree more.” Marcel sighs before he takes a seat as well.

“I would like to know who I’m dealing with.” Tommy says as he looks at the other two. “You can’t expect me to go into a war without all the possible information. If I’m going to side with the Mikaelsons I need to be aware of their dynamics and their feelings towards you.” He states as he looks at Emily with raised eyebrows.

“Fine.” Emily huffs.

Marcel chuckles. “How much time do you have?”

* * *

_ The Low Countries, 1197. _

_“Who are they?” Emily asks one of the other girls that have been sent to get water as she points to the three men and a woman who make their way towards the well._

_“I have no idea.” The girl says. “And I don’t care, strangers usually cause problems. Besides they’re mostly men and we’ve both been given away already so I would keep my eyes away from them if I were you.” The girl goes on, but Emily ignores the advice as she studies the strangers. A blush forms on her cheeks as she makes eye-contact with the blond man. She has to admit that they’re all good-looking, but there is something about the blonde man that catches her attention._

_From that day on the family settles into their village for a while; they’re called the Mikaelsons and they’re siblings. Emily has talked to the blonde man named Niklaus a few times now and the man from the village that she is promised to as soon as she reaches the appropriate age isn’t happy about it. He’s a cruel man, but he comes from an important family so her parents continue to tell her that marrying him will be a step forward and they won’t hear their daughter’s protests. The fact that Emily comes from a family of witches means that they are seen as the outcasts of the village and it’s an honor for Emily to be promised to a man with such a high status. After seeing Emily talking to Niklaus again today, her husband-to-be once again starts a rant about her loyalty to him after which he pulls her up by her hair and punches her in the stomach. After several blows to her body and face he finally lets her go and Emily runs as far into the forest as she can. She doesn’t expect anyone to be there as she sits down against a tree and lets her tears fall, so she’s surprised to hear a voice._

_“What are you doing out here, love?” Niklaus asks as he approaches her. She immediately tenses up and is about to run away when she sees it’s Niklaus._

_She lets out a relived breath. “I thought you were someone else.” She mutters before she closes her eyes and tries to control her breathing._

_Niklaus furrows his eyebrows. “Were you running from someone?” He asks as he looks around to find a possible threat._

_“It doesn’t matter.” She shakes her head. “I should get back.” Emily is about to walk away, but Niklaus gently grabs her arm to stop her. She winces when he touches her, which makes Niklaus even more suspicious because he is always as gentle as possible with her. Without thinking he moves her sleeve up._

_“Who did this to you?” He asks; his voice turning cold. Emily shakes her head as she fights back the tears. “Who did this to you, Emily?” Niklaus growls as he struggles to control himself._

_“It will just get worse if I tell you.” She sniffles. “He’s not going to stop and I’ll have to deal with it for the rest of my life while everyone keeps saying how lucky I am for improving my stupid status.” She now lets the tears run freely down her cheeks. “There’s nothing you can do, Nik.”_

_Niklaus pulls her into his arms. “There’s plenty I can do, love. I’ll make him pay for what he did to you.” He promises as he presses his lips to her cheekbone._

_“No, you can’t confront him about this.” She shakes her head as she looks up at him. “He’ll hurt you and I can’t let you get hurt because of me, Nik. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself; you’ve been nothing but good to me. Please don’t do anything.” She pleads._

_“You can’t keep living like this, Emily.” Niklaus says. “One of these days he could go too far. I’ll talk to him.” He mutters as he pulls her back against him._

_Emily shakes in his arms. “You can’t do that; if he finds out I told you he will hurt me even more.” She cries. “The whole reason he hits me is because I speak to you so much.”_

_Niklaus’ body stiffens. “He hurts you because of me?”_

_“It’s not your fault, Nik.” She promises him. “None of this is your fault. If anything you’ve made my life better. My family doesn’t care about me; they just see me as a way to gain a better position. They’ve betrayed who we are.” She straightens up as she goes on. “They’ve betrayed what we are. Since we settled down in this village they’ve kept me away from magic as much as possible.” Her eyes grow big as she realizes what she just said and she looks up at Niklaus in fear, but she clutches onto him. “Please don’t hate me.” Emily whimpers as she hopes with everything in her that he will accept her for what she is._

_Niklaus tightens his arms around her slightly; still afraid of hurting her. “I could never hate you, Emily.” He mutters as he looks down at her. “And since you shared what you are, I believe it is only fair if I do the same.” He says as he lets her go and takes a step back; giving her the room to flee when she saw what he really was. He wouldn’t blame her if she did. “I just hope you will still be able to care for me once you’ve seen what I really am.” He says before the veins become visible under his eyes and he opens his mouth to show her his fangs. Emily gasps, but she doesn’t move away. After a moment she steps forward and slowly raises one of her hands to touch Niklaus’ face. “You’re not afraid?” He asks; surprised as he takes in the light feeling of her fingertips on his skin._

_“Should I be?” She whispers as she brings her other hand up to his face as well._

_“I’m a monster.” Niklaus closes his eyes, repulsed with himself. “My siblings and I live on blood and have a strength you could not imagine. We have killed people, Emily.” He says as his face turns back to normal._

_“You’ve never done anything bad to me.” Emily cups his cheeks. “You’ve shown me more kindness than even my own family, Nik; I’m not afraid of you.”_


	4. History

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are flashbacks.

New Orleans, present day.

“So, Niklaus and you were very close?” Tommy raises his eyebrows as he takes a sip of his drink.

Marcel scoffs. “It was a little more than just close. They loved each other for centuries.” He tells Tommy as Emily stares out of the window to New Orleans on the other side of the water. “They had gotten married here in New Orleans not too long before they took me in.”

“You were married?” Tommy turns to Emily with a shocked face.

Emily turns to him and Marcel again and gets something out of her pocket before she speaks up. “Technically I still am.” She says as she shows them a simple, but beautiful ring. “And I’m not sure I will ever be able to throw this ring, and all the memories that come with it, away.” She sighs and puts the ring back in her pocket. “I loved Niklaus for over 700 years; that doesn’t just go away. I doubt I’ll ever get fully over it and I think part of me hoped that we could somehow reconnect if I came to help him, but as always he has his walls up. And though I used to be the person to break down those walls, a hundred years is a long time to overcome. I don’t think he even still wants to let me in and seeing him today made me wonder if I even want to let him in again.” She turns back to the window. “I regret coming here, but I can’t leave now.”

“Why not?” Tommy asks as he watches her back.

“I can’t do that to the rest of them.” Emily shakes her head. “They took me in like I was their own family.”

* * *

_ The Low Countries, 1198. _

_“What is she doing here, Niklaus?” Elijah asks when his brother shows up with Emily; they’re packing everything up to flee to the next place._

_“She’s coming with us.” Niklaus simply states._

_“What?” Rebekah walk up to them. “She can’t come with us, Nik; it’s too dangerous, she’ll get hurt!”_

_“She’ll get hurt here!” Niklaus says as he steps towards his sister. “I’ve been protecting her from the people in this village for weeks and I am not going to leave her behind to get hurt the minute I turn my back.” He growls at his siblings._

_“What do you mean; you’ve been protecting her?” Elijah says as he looks Emily up and down. “From what, brother?” He wants to know._

_“She’s supposed to marry the landowner’s son, but he hurts her whenever she does something he doesn’t like. Her own family leaves her out in the cold and make her suppress what she really is. The people in this village look at her with disgust because of what she is and I think that we of all people should sympathize with that.”_

_“What is she?” Kol asks._

_Niklaus looks at Emily to see if she’s okay with him telling them and she gives him a weak smile and a nod. “She’s a witch from a powerful line. There are very few that stand as close to the elements as she does, but her parents refuse to let her use any magic. I thought you might be able to help her with it, brother?” Niklaus says to Kol._

_Kol nods and walks to Emily. “Welcome to the family then, I guess.” He gives her his charming smirk. “Let me take that for you, darling.” He adds as he takes the small bag she took and throws it on the cart with the rest of her stuff. Niklaus looks at Elijah, who nods while Rebekah looks at Emily with pity._

* * *

_“I’m so sorry that you had to go through all of that.” Rebekah says to Emily when they rest for a while during their travels. “I don’t understand why some people are so cruel.”_

_Emily shurgs. “I’ve never known much else. I mean; my parents never physically hurt me, but they couldn’t care less about me.” She stares out into the field. “I guess I just never felt like I was worth being treated any better; until I met Nik.” Emily adds as she diverts her eyes towards Niklaus who is getting some wood for the fire with Kol._

_“Well, I’m glad.” Rebekah smiles as she places a hand on Emily’s shoulder, who turns her head to look at Rebekah. “I’ve always wanted a sister.”_

* * *

_“I actually did it!” Emily lets out a breathy laugh as she stares at the flower that she brought back to its beautiful state. “Thank you so much, Kol.” She smiles as she turns to her new mentor when it comes to magic._

_“I knew you could do it, darling.” He says as he crouches down next to her, in front of the flower. “And I can teach you many other things.” He promises. “But I think this was enough for tonight; you look rather tired.” He furrows his eyebrows as he studies her face._

_“I am.” Emily gives him a tired smile as she watches Kol stand back up and she reaches up to take his outstretched hand so he can pull her up._

* * *

_“Do you need a hand?” Emily asks Elijah as she watches him struggle with getting some of the stuff to stay on the cart. Elijah turns to look at her, but before he can answer she’s muttering a spell and some plants grow around the pile of things to keep them on the cart._

_Elijah chuckles when he sees it. “Thank you, Emilia.” He says as he looks at her again. “Did Kol teach you that?”_

_She nods. “He’s taught me a lot; he knows about so many different kinds of magic and I’m very grateful that he’s patient enough to teach them to me.”_

_Elijah smiles. “He enjoys teaching you; you’ve calmed him down since you’ve joined our family. You’ve also had a positive effect on Niklaus and I would like you to know that I appreciate your addition to our family.”_

_Emily looks into Elijah’s eyes where she sees nothing but sincerity; she wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about her joining them before, but now she knows that he has fully accepted her._

* * *

New Orleans, present day.

“You must have been with him for centuries before you actually came to New Orleans.” Tommy wonders. “Why did you not get married before you came here?”

“Because we didn’t even think about getting married while we were on the run.” Emily explains as she walks back to the couch and sits down next to Marcel. “When we found a place to call home here Niklaus proposed and ten years later we found Marcel; we took him in like he was our own.”

Marcel goes on from there. “They raised me like their son, until Klaus’ paranoia took over. He drove her away and not long after the Mikaelsons got chased out of town without even looking back to see if I was alive.”

“And yet you’re willing to help them?” Tommy raises his eyebrows as he looks at the two of them.

“They’ve done too much for me to just turn my back on them.” Marcel leans forward towards Tommy. “They thought I died and they had to run and besides that we’ve been through a lot of things since they came back to New Orleans.”

“no one is asking you to stay Tommy.” Emily looks at him. “You can go whenever you want; I wouldn’t blame you if you did.”

“Of course we’re not leaving.” Tommy clenches his jaw to stop himself from becoming too angry. “You’re family, Emily; we will never leave you behind.”


	5. Suppressed feelings

New Orleans, present day.

Niklaus lets out a deep sigh as his hand automatically seems to draw her face. He has thousands of drawings and paintings of Emily; she was his muse for centuries. He even continued to draw her after she left, and now that he has seen her again after all this time he can’t seem to draw or paint anything else. He has imagined reuniting with her so many times, but now that she’s actually here he can’t shake his own bitterness. He has loved her for so long, and if he’s completely honest he still does, and he knows he was the one that chased her away. But admitting a mistake is not exactly natural to him. No matter how many happy memories fill his mind when he thinks of her.

* * *

_ The Low Countries, 1198. _

_It’s been six months since they left Emily’s village and she has found her place in the Mikaelson family. They have all accepted her and her and Niklaus have been growing closer every day._

_“What are you thinking about, love?” Niklaus asks softly as he approaches Emily. She’s sitting in a field slightly away from their camp but still within sight; Niklaus made it very clear that there are threats around. “No regrets I hope.” He tries to sound casual, but it’s his biggest fear; for her to regret coming with him._

_Emily shakes her head before she looks up at him with a soft smile. “No regrets.” She assures him before she looks out over the field again. “Just happy thoughts.” She adds and he smiles as he sits down next to her._

_“Good.” He mutters as he watches her with a smile. He still can’t believe that someone this wonderful was willing to leave everything behind to come with a monster like him. “Are you sure this is the life you want though?” He asks as his expression drops; he doesn’t want her to feel like she has to stay. “Because if it’s not I’m sure we can find a place that you can call home.” He goes on, though the idea of letting her go hurts him._

_Emily turns to face him. She watches him for a moment and wants nothing more than to get the sad expression off his face. Niklaus stares right back at her as he tries to take in every detail of her face since he believes her answer is in the silence and she will leave him soon._

_“I won’t leave you.” Emily says softly as she reaches out to place her hand on his cheek. “I don’t want to go anywhere without you, Nick.” She assures him. “You’re my home now.” She tells him as she shuffles even closer to him._

_A soft smile appears on Niklaus’ face as he reaches forward to place his hand on her cheek in return. He slowly leans forward, giving her plenty of time to pull away in case this isn’t what she wants, but she doesn’t move back. Emily leans in as well and their lips meet in the middle as they share their first kiss._

_Niklaus completely forgets any worries he had about what the dangers of his life would mean for Emily as he loses himself in the kiss. He has never felt anything like it before and gently lifts his other hand to gently cup her face._

_Emily is the first to pull away due to a lack of oxygen, but she makes sure she stays close to Niklaus. She blushes heavily while he stares into her eyes. Since she grew up rather sheltered and promised to a powerful man, Emily had never kissed anyone before and she is pretty sure Niklaus would be the only person she wanted to kiss for the rest of her life._

* * *

New Orleans, present day.

Niklaus is broken out of his memory when he hears something snap. When he looks down to locate the source of the sound he realizes tears are blurring his vision and he has the blink a few times to see the snap came from the pencil he had in his hand, which is now broken in two. He throws the pieces across the room in frustration as tears continue to build up in his eyes.

Now she’s here all those memories he thought he buried come back up. Their love was pure and strong, and he ruined it. Part of him wants to fix it, but on the other hand he doesn’t see how it would work out now; them getting back together would probably end in more heartbreak. The fact that Emily showed up to dinner with another man, made him even more insecure about the chance of the old flame rekindling between them.

“Don’t you think you should act a little nicer to the woman that has occupied your mind for the past 700 years?” Elijah voice sounds behind Niklaus. Elijah comes to stand next to his brother and looks at the sketchbook on the table. “You clearly still love her, brother, and you’re not the same man you were when she left. Hope has changed you and I’m sure when Emily sees that she will at least consider giving you another chance.” He says, but Niklaus scoffs.

“I still don’t understand why but she loved you for hundreds of years, Nik, I highly doubt she lost all of those feelings.” Kol joins the conversation. “She just needs a reminder.” He grins at his brother.

* * *

 

Marcel walks up to the house where the Shelby’s have taken residence. Emily wants him to meet the rest of the family, and after hearing a lot about them he is quite curious himself. He raises his hand to knock on the door, which is opened almost instantly by John and Finn. They take Marcel in and Finn looks ready to ask him a million questions.

“At least let him in boys.” Tommy tells his brothers as he stands in the doorway to the living-room. Finn and John let him in. “Those are my younger brothers John and Finn.” Tommy introduces the boys to Marcel, who shakes their hands. “Come on in.” Tommy says as he lead the way into the living-room, where Emily is waiting with Arthur, Ada, Polly and Michael.


	6. Reaching out

_Northern France, 1201._

_Emily has been with the Mikaelson’s for a few years now and she’s nearing the age Niklaus had when he was turned. She barely leaves his side. The only times they’re apart is when he has to feed (he hates the thought of her seeing him like that) or when Kol is helping her with her magic. Emily and Kol try to learn from the different witches they’ve met over the past few years, and Emily has become a very powerful witch. Kol is more than proud of her progress especially now that she can make her own spells and her grimoires are piling up._

_Kol has asked her if she could help him find a way for him to use magic whilst being a vampire. They had both put a lot of work into it and think they have found a way for Kol to use magic. They have gathered their ingredients and worked on the spell for months on end. Now all there’s left is the spell, and tonight is the night._

_“Are you sure this is safe?” Niklaus asks as he follows Emily to a clearing in the woods where Kol is already making the final preparations. Emily and Kol have both been rather secretive about the spell, which has worried Niklaus a lot. Emily usually enthusiastically tells Niklaus about her magic accomplishments, so her silence worries him more than anything._

_Emily hesitates in answering him. She knows the spell will be dangerous, but Kol has helped her a lot and she wants to do this for him. “It’ll be fine.” She tries to assure Niklaus. “You should probably stay back here, the spell will release some force.” Emily says as she quickly walks over to Kol; she’s a little scared of what will happen and she knows looking back at Niklaus will cause her to doubt._

_“Ready?” Kol asks as he sees her walk up to him. Emily nods and takes her position in the circle. “Thank you for doing this.” Kol says as he briefly places his hand on her arm before he takes his position in the other half of the circle._

_Emily smiles at him before she focusses on the task at hand. She closes her eyes and starts to recite the spell she and Kol developed. Niklaus watches from a distance, his eyes on Emily in the hopes that everything goes well. The wind seems to pick up and Niklaus sees Emily and Kol slightly rise up from the ground._

_So far everything goes according to plan, but the wind starts to circle around Emily and Kol and Emily gasps as the magical power seems to be too much for her. Niklaus is about to step in, but the wind seems to explode in the circle and blows him back against a tree._

_Emily and Kol have fallen back to the ground and then there’s silence, complete silence. Niklaus pushes himself of the ground and runs towards Emily. “No, no, no.” He mutters as he takes her in his arms. He can’t hear her heartbeat as he pulls her close and tears gather in his eyes._

_It takes several minutes before Kol wakes up and he immediately looks for Emily. He knows something went wrong with the spell and his heart breaks slightly when he sees his brother with Emily in his arms. Kol notices the lack of heartbeat as well as he slowly approaches them. “Nik?” He whispers._

_Niklaus clutches Emily to his chest and growls at his brother. “This is your fault!” Niklaus accuses Kol. “You shouldn’t have asked her to do this! You knew she would never say no to helping you!” He’s breathing heavy as his grip on Emily tightens even more. “You killed her.” He’s no longer yelling, but the low tone of his voice and the tears in his eyes scare Kol more than anything._

_Kol is about to respond, though he’s not entirely sure how, when Emily gasps and pushes herself up in Niklaus’ arms. Both brothers stare at her in shock. “Wh-what happened?” She pants as she tries to catch her breath._

_Niklaus is unable to say anything, he simply wraps his arms around her as he tries to take in the fact that she’s still with him. “You died.” Kol says as he drops onto the ground next to them. “How is this possible?” He mutters more to himself than to the other two._

_When she hears what Kol says she’s shocked for a moment, but when she feels Niklaus’ tears on her skin she tightly wraps her arms around him as she tries to comfort him._

* * *

New Orleans, present day.

Niklaus spent the entire night tossing and turning, but mostly thinking. Elijah is right; hope has changed him. The last few years have changed him. They have made him realize that feelings should not be hidden or pushed away, because the person you care for can be gone before you know it. He doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life regretting his actions towards Emily, so he needs to let her know he still loves her.

 _“She just needs a reminder.”_ Kol’s words echo through Niklaus’ head as he wanders around the city. He’s pretty sure it would take more than just a reminder; if he really wants her back he has to woo her all over again. He has wooed many women over the years, but he never feared their rejection so it was easy to appear confident in front of them. Emily is something else entirely; he fears being rejected by her more than anything else.

Niklaus stops in front of a flower shop. He almost scolds himself at the idea, flowers aren’t nearly special enough, but then his eyes land on a simple bouquet of poppies. When Emily just joined their family and they traveled to the next place, they came by large fields of poppies. Niklaus would pick the flowers for Emily and the young girl would blush deeply at the kind gesture and whisper a soft thank you as she looked down at the flowers.

He buys the flowers and makes his way to the house Emily is staying in with a reminiscent smile on his face. The smile falls when the door is answered by the man that joined Emily to dinner the other night. “Thomas.” Niklaus’ voice is cold and if Tommy wasn’t such a master at keeping his emotions hidden Niklaus would have seen the fear in his eyes.

“Niklaus.” Tommy gives a curt nod. “I assume you’re here for Emily.” He states as he gestures to the flowers in Niklaus’ hand. Niklaus nods and Tommy gets out of the way so he can step inside. “Emily, you have a guest!” Tommy calls out before he leaves towards the backyard where the rest of the family is preparing the plan they set up last night with Marcel.

Emily passes Tommy by the backdoor and Tommy gestures in the directions of the front door before he steps outside. “Niklaus?” Emily is slightly surprised to see him there. She assumes he needs something, but then her eyes fall on the bouquet in his hand. “Can I help you?”

“Emily.” He starts but his voice sounds unsure, and he internally scolds himself for it. The moment Tommy was out of view and Emily walked in, his heart skipped a beat. It had skipped a beat when he first saw her in the compound as well and it makes him even more determined to have her back. “These are for you.” He smiles slightly as he hands her the flowers. Emily looks down at them and he notices a hint of a blush on her cheeks as she looks at them, but it’s gone as soon as it appeared. She looks different than she did over a hundred years ago; her hair is a little shorter and she wears it down, but she’s still the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. “I was wondering if you would like to have dinner with me?” He asks. “We have a lot to talk about.”

“We do.” Emily has to admit, and she has to appreciate that he’s reaching out like this. Elijah must have talked to him. “Dinner sounds lovely.” She gives him a small smile and a nod before her eyes focus on the flowers again. Memories of large fields of poppies float into her mind, and she remembers that Niklaus got her poppies every year on their wedding anniversary.

“Does tonight work for you?” He asks and she nods. Anyone who would have watched the scene would have thought Niklaus had lost his mind, but he had always been much more gentle with her. “I’ll pick you up at six.” He promises and is about to turn around when she stops him.

“Wait.” Emily says and she’s about to reach out her hand, but quickly pulls it back. The gesture doesn’t go unnoticed by Niklaus, who has turned back around. “We talked to Marcel last night and we have a plan to make sure the witches don’t side with Hernandez.”


	7. Reconciliation

New Orleans, present day.

“They’re going to throw a party?” Elijah asks, the disbelief clear in his voice. Niklaus has just told him about the plan that has been set in motion.

“Yes.” Niklaus answers as he looks through his wardrobe for something to wear to dinner. “Emily has always been a friend and ally of the New Orleans witches. The party is to celebrate her return.” He explains as he picks a shirt. “Hernandez will see how many people are attending and think of it as an opportunity to humiliate us. Whatever course of action he takes will most likely harm the witches, and voila; an alliance has been made.” He smirks.

Elijah mulls it over in his head while Niklaus gets changed. “Why are you getting changed?” He asks his younger brother. “Are you going out while we’re at the brink of war?” He slightly raises his eyebrows.

“I’m taking Emily out to dinner.” Niklaus answers as he straightens the collar of his shirt. “War can wait until I have reconciled with my wife.” He adds as he turns to Elijah, who looks rather shocked.

“She agreed to have dinner with you?” He asks and Niklaus nods with a grin. “Well, good luck then.” He smiles. “Bring her back home, brother.” He adds as he places a hand on Niklaus’ shoulder.

* * *

“A few days ago you said you weren’t sure if you ever wanted to let him in again, and now you’re going to dinner with him?” Tommy questions Emily as she stands in front of the mirror in the hall so she can make sure she looks alright. It’s silly that she’s this worried about her appearance. Niklaus has seen her at her absolute worst and still stayed, but she feels like she needs to make an effort tonight.

“Yes, he’s still my husband and I still have feelings for him, Tommy.” She tells her friend. Tommy is definitely not pleased with this development. He and Emily are just friends, but for the past 100 years she has been there for him and his family and he hates the thought of Niklaus taking her away from him. He might also feel a bit more for her than he cares to admit.

“I still think you should be careful around him.” Tommy says. “I don’t want you to get hurt.” He states and his jaw clenches as his vampire-hearing picks up on footstep coming towards the house.

“You don’t have to worry about me, Tommy.” Emily smiles slightly as she steps closer to Tommy and she places her hand on his arm. “Sometimes you seem to forget that I’m the eldest.” She teases, which causes Tommy to smile. Their moment is interrupted by the doorbell.

Emily gives Tommy’s arm a gentle squeeze before she turns to open the door. “Hello love.” Niklaus smiles when he sees her. “Are you ready to go?” She looks back for a moment, but Tommy has disappeared so she reaches for her purse and nods. “I figured we could walk, if that alright with you?”

Emily smiles at his gentle tone. “Of course.” Niklaus offers her his arm, which she accepts. It’s the first time they have touched each other in over a hundred years, and they both feel their skin tingle as a pleasant warmth moves from the place where they’re touching through the rest of their bodies.

They walk in silence for a while as Emily takes in how much New Orleans has changed since the last time she was there. “It’s different and familiar at the same time.” She mutters as she pulls herself a bit closer to Niklaus.

He smiles as he looks down at the beautiful woman on his arm. “So you haven’t been back at all?” He asks; he’s very curious about what has happened in her life since he last saw her. “Not even after we left?”

Emily shakes her head. “I met with Marcel a few times since then, but always on neutral territory.” She tells him as she looks down. “Part of me was always scared what feelings would come back up if I came back here.” She admits.

Niklaus nods, he had been rather reluctant to go back as well. After walking a bit further, he leads her to a cozy little restaurant. They halt on the other side of the street, so she can look at it for a moment. Niklaus admires her as she takes in the building in front of her.

“This place still exists?” She laughs slightly as she remembers the dinners she shared with Niklaus in the restaurant in front of them.

He smiles when he sees the twinkle in her eyes. “Well, it changed owners a few times.” He admits as she turns her head to look at him. “I’m pleased to say that the new owner has, after some gentle persuasion, restored it in its past beauty.” When he first came back to New Orleans he had been pleased to see the building was still a restaurant, but when he stepped inside he was incredibly disappointed. The place looked nothing like it used to, so he compelled the owner to change it back.

Emily looks up at him in disbelief. “You compelled the owner, didn’t you?” She asks and when he smirks and shrugs, she simply sighs and shakes her head. “Some things never change.” She mutters and Niklaus looks on as she lets go of his arm and makes her way to the restaurant.

He’s quick to follow and opens the door for her. She smiles slightly at the kind gesture and steps inside. Once inside she stands still and takes in the familiar surroundings. “Do you remember the last time we were here?” Niklaus asks softly as he places his hand on the small of her back.

Emily shivers slightly as his voice sounds close to her ear, and the familiar feeling of his hand on her back causes her to lean into his touch. “Of course I do.” She almost whispers as they both remember the last time they were at the restaurant.

* * *

_New Orleans, 1911._

_Emily forces a smile at the couple sitting across from her and Niklaus. The mayor and his wife had interrupted Emily’s romantic dinner with Niklaus and she is far from pleased as the slightly overweight man continues to talk to her husband._

_Niklaus is well-aware of his wife’s annoyance and tries to get the mayor to take the hint and leave. If the man were anyone else Niklaus would have gotten rid of them as soon as the dinner with his wife was interrupted, but for the peace of the town he had to play friendly._

_Emily sighs softly and lets her eyes fall to Niklaus’ hand that’s placed on her leg. Even with the fabric of her dress separating their skin, she can feel the tingles she always gets when he touches her. She smiles as she takes his hand in her own and he immediately entwines their fingers, while she keeps her eyes on his wedding ring._

_Niklaus gives her hand a gentle squeeze and rubs his thumb over her skin; he knows she loves little gestures like that. He’s relieved when the mayor announces he should get going and after politely bidding them goodbye, Emily and Niklaus sit back down._

_“I thought he was never going to leave.” Emily sighs in relief as she reaches out for her glass. Niklaus chuckles at his wife as he places his hand on hers that is resting on the table. “I’m serious, Nik, I think you’ve been a bit too nice to him. He always wants to talk to you.” She grins before she takes a sip of her drink._

_He leans back in his chair. “You were the one that wanted me to get along with him, love.” He says with a smirk as he catches on to his wife’s playful mood._

_“I know, but it didn’t expect him to latch onto my husband like that.” Emily leans her elbows on the table as she locks her eyes on Niklaus._

_“Well, then you finally understand how I felt with the previous mayor.” Niklaus says as he leans his arms on the table as well. “He couldn’t keep his eyes off you.” He reaches out to take one of her hands. “Not that I could blame him; you get more beautiful every day.” He tells her as he presses a kiss to her hand._


	8. Date night (part 1)

New Orleans, present day.

“It wasn’t even anything special.” Emily smiles at the memory; things had been so normal back then, well, relatively normal. “It was just us. Every interaction between us was so natural.” She adds in a whisper as she looks to the table they sat at that night.

Niklaus nods in agreement. “It can be like that again.” He says, and he sincerely hopes she agrees with him.

“We can’t just go back to the way it was.” She shakes her head to rid herself of the daze of the memory before she looks up at him. “It’ll take time.”

“Well, that’s one thing we have.” He nods again as he looks into her eyes. “I’ll wait for you.” His gaze is intense and Emily blushes slightly as she sees the determination in his eyes. “Forever if I have to.”

* * *

 

“They’re on a date?” Rebekah asks Elijah as the family has gathered in the compound. Elijah nods and a gleeful smile spreads across Rebekah’s face. “That’s wonderful.” She gushes. “Our family will be whole again.”

Elijah smiles at his sister; he wholeheartedly agrees with her. Things haven’t been the same without Emily. “Why did she leave in the first place?” Hayley asks as she tries to make sense of the situation.

Freya sits forward as well, she’s just as curious about this mystery woman. Elijah, Rebekah and Kol share a look but keep their mouths shut. “Nik drove her away as he became more and more paranoid.” Rebekah speaks up. “We don’t know exactly what the final straw was, because Nik refuses to talk about it.”

“What is she exactly?” Freya asks carefully. “Because she doesn’t have the strength of a vampire, I saw that when she took the boy from Kol.” She explains her question.

Kol sits up straight as he takes it upon himself to explain, after all it was sort of his fault. “Emily was a powerful witch and the two of us tried to create a spell that would allow me to use magic whilst being a vampire.” He starts. “The spell blew up in our face and Emily died, she was dead for at least ten minutes when she suddenly started breathing again. We didn’t understand it since none of us had given her our blood, but we weren’t going to question it either. Life went on as usual, but she seemed to lose more and more strength as time went on.”

* * *

_Northern France, 1201._

_Niklaus looks on with worry as Emily can barely sit up straight on her own. She has been losing strength since the spell blew up, and they have no idea what to do to help her. Each sibling is trying to help in their own way. Rebekah cooks Emily anything she can think of as she hopes Emily will gain strength from it, but to no avail. Elijah has been compelling so called doctors, witches and medicine-men to help her, but it’s of no use. Kol is desperately studying their spell in the hope of finding out what went wrong._

_And Niklaus hasn’t left her side since it happened. He tried feeding her his blood, which seems to help a bit, but she’s still getting weaker. Aside from his gentle care for Emily, his worry is coming out in the form of anger towards Kol. He blames his younger brother for this and if Emily dies he knows he will never be able to forgive Kol._

_“I’ve got it!” Kol exclaims as he comes running to the tree where Niklaus and Emily are sitting. Niklaus growls at him and pulls Emily closer to him. The rest of the siblings gather around in case it gets to a fight. “I’ve figured it out, Nik, I know why she’s losing strength.” Kol explains as he kneels down in front of Emily with a bowl in his hands. “I’ve studied the spell and she just needs to feed.” He says as he holds out the bowl to Niklaus, who hesitantly takes is._

_“It’s blood.” Niklaus states as he stares at the red substance. “You think she needs to feed on human blood?” He sounds skeptical. “None of us gave her our blood, she’s not like us Kol.” He hisses at his brother as he goes to lean forward, but a soft touch to his arm stops him._

_“Nik, don’t.” Emily whispers. “I can at least try it.” She suggests as she glances at Kol before locking her eyes on the bowl Niklaus is still holding. “It won’t do any harm and at least we can say we’ve tried everything.” She adds as she tries to sit up, but she’s too weak. Niklaus helps her up as Rebekah supports her other side._

_Niklaus nods as he slowly brings the bowl to her lips and helps her drink it. Elijah, Rebekah and Niklaus gasp as dark veins appear under Emily eyes as she drinks, but Kol simply grins; he was right. “But how?” Niklaus asks as she finishes drinking and manages to sit up by herself._

_“The spell didn’t turn me into an immortal who can use magic, it turned her into an immortal witch.” Kol explains. “And we know that immortality means feeding on blood.”_

* * *

New Orleans, present day.

“Does that mean she has vampire abilities and she’s a witch?” Hayley says as she furrows her eyebrows.

Elijah shakes his head. “She’s a witch who can’t die, but she does not possess the strength, speed or fast healing powers we do. When she gets hurt she heals at a human pace, but she does always fully heal.” He explains. “Much to Niklaus’ relief we found out our vampire blood still helps her heal faster. She’s very much like Freya.”

“But if you knew what you did wrong with the spell, why did you not try again?” Freya asks as she looks at Kol. “You could have gotten out the mistake and you would have been able to use magic.”

“Nik, wouldn’t allow her to do something so dangerous again.” Kol says before he looks down at his hands. “And I couldn’t ask it of her again; I almost got her killed.” He adds as he remembers the guilt he felt during those days.

“Over the years we have come to care for her like a sister.” Rebekah takes over. “None of us wanted her to get hurt again.”

* * *

 

“So, I assume Marcel has kept you informed of what I’ve been doing since I got back to town?” Niklaus raises his eyebrows in question as he looks at Emily on the other side of the table.

A waiter has just brought their food and Emily looks up from her meal at the question. “Yes, and from the rumors I heard about your time away from New Orleans, you’ve been making quite a mess these past hundred years.” She states. “Even more than you did before.”

“You don’t exactly shy away from violence either, love. Granted, you usually had an actual reason for it, but your torture techniques were second only to mine.” Niklaus responds and he has to suppress a smirk because he sees it’s not something she wants to talk about. “Where have you been, though, for the past hundred years?” He asks as he leans forward.

“At first I travelled around, I didn’t stay anywhere for longer than a day or two.” She sighs as she recalls the first few years away from Niklaus. “I have to admit I made quite the mess myself.” She mutters the last part as she looks down at her plate.


	9. Date night (part 2)

New Orleans, present day.

“I went to Birmingham in 1916 and met Polly.” Emily tells Niklaus, who listens intently. “She was running an illegal betting den while her cousins were away at war. I started helping her and her niece, Ada, out and when the boys came back I stuck around.” She says as she recalls her days in the dark city. “I became close with the whole family and when they got themselves in some trouble I made sure they had vampire blood in their system before they went into the fight.”

Niklaus nods slowly. “I looked for you, until father found us and we had to start running again.” He tells her. “I had a feeling you would keep in touch with Marcel, so I tried to get him to open up.” He sighs as he looks down and remembers the desperation he felt. “But he never told me anything.” He adds before a silence engulfs them.

“I almost ran into you once.” Emily admits after a while and Niklaus’ eyes immediately meet hers again. “When Marcel went to fight in the war I went to see him. He ran into me at the edge of the camp and told me you were there to see him as well.”

“So you left.” Niklaus states as he looks down at the table. He doesn’t blame her for it; it wasn’t too long after she left and he really messed up.

She feels her eyes get watery as she remembers how she felt that day. “A part of me wanted to run to you and apologize for leaving, tell you I still loved you and that I’d never leave you again.” She lets out a shaky breath as she keeps her eyes on her hands. “But I was also scared; scared that you wouldn’t even want to see me. That you were doing fine without me, because you had been so distant when I was last with you.”

Emily spills out her heart right in front of him and he can feel his own eyes get watery as he lifts his gaze from the table to look at her. “I don’t know what I would have done if I saw you back then.” He admits after a moment as he reaches out and takes her hands in his own. “But I need you to know that I never stopped loving you, not then and not now.”

* * *

 

“She must have left him for a reason.” Ada mutters as the Shelby family sits in the living-room. “Why would she just go back to him?”

“Apparently they’ve been together since the 13th century.” Tommy says as he nurses his drink. He’s trying to keep his mind of Emily and Niklaus, but his family insists on talking about it.

“Then the reason she left him after all those centuries must have been something really bad.” John says. “Are we really trusting these Mikaelsons, though? I mean, we’ve all heard the stories.” He raises his eyebrows as he looks at his older brothers. “They’re killers that only care about their own family, if push comes to shove they will let us die.”

“Emily trusts them.” Arthur mutters, though a part of him agrees with John.

“No.” Tommy states. “I don’t trust that family to look out for us in any way. We need to keep ourselves safe.”

* * *

“Marcel told me about Camille.” Emily softly says as their dessert is served. She keeps a close eye on Niklaus, but he doesn’t seem startled by what she says.

He simply nods as he looks at Emily. “I care for her, I can’t deny that.” He tells her. “We kissed once, but I don’t wish to pursue anything with her. I mostly spend time with her because she reminds me of you.” He watches her as she takes in his words and he’s glad to see she seems satisfied with his answer. “What about you and that Thomas?” Niklaus finally asks the question that has been haunting him.

“It happened once.” Emily admits. “In the twenties. He had just lost his wife and was a new vampire so his emotions were all over the place, and I was feeling particularly lonely because it would have been our anniversary.” She explains. “I’m not proud of it.”

Niklaus watches her for a moment. “I think we’ve both done things we’re not proud of.” He starts as he takes her hand in his own once again and he waits until she looks back up at him before he continues. “I also think we can move past all of that.”

Emily stays quiet as she watches their joined hands. She really wants to believe they can, and she does believe he still loves her, she just thinks it will take more time than Niklaus implies. “I think so too.” She eventually whispers and she looks up to see a genuine smile spread across Niklaus’ face.

* * *

 

In another part of town Lucien Castle has just rented an apartment and he looks out across the city with a drink in his hand. He heard about the threat his sire is facing and, since he doesn’t want to die, decided to come to New Orleans to eliminate this threat.

He has just heard Emily is in town as well. He met her in the fourties and is still quite fascinated by the beautiful woman, that once belonged to Niklaus. Lucien and Emily did some business back in the day to keep a war from breaking out between the supernatural in London. Their combined efforts cleaned up the mess the slightly out of control Shelby’s had made.

* * *

 

_ London, 1948. _

_“I leave you alone for less than a day.” Emily sighs as she walks into the office of the Eden club in London to find Lucien holding Arthur up against the wall. “Let’s talk about this like adults, shall we?” Emily suggests as she tries to stay calm. She can tell that this vampire is much older than Arthur, so she needs to be careful._

_Lucien turns his head to look at the source of the voice. His eyes move up and down Emily’s body and he concludes she is extremely beautiful. He’s also impressed by how calm she remains, if she’s associated with the man he’s currently holding against the wall she can’t be very old. “Of course, where are my manners.” Lucien grins as he drops Arthur to the floor, who immediately gasps for air. “Your associate and I just had a slight difference of opinion, my apologies.”_

_“He does tend to be a bit impulsive.” Emily responds before she turns to Arthur. “You should probably show your face to the customers.” She suggests to Arthur, who wearily eyes Lucien before he turns around and walks out of the office. Emily turns to face Lucien again and makes her way to the desk in the office. “Can I get you a drink mister..?” She trails off as she waits for him to tell her his name._

_“Castle.” Lucien smiles as he leans on the desk on the opposite side of where Emily stands. “Lucien Castle.” He adds as he watches her pour two drink and hand one to him._

_Emily raises her eyebrows when he says his name. “As in the first vampire ever turned by Klaus Mikaelson?” She questions as she leans against the wall and takes a sip of her drink._

_Lucien looks slightly shocked; no one outside the Mikaelson family and Tristan and Aurora knows he was the first vampire Niklaus ever turned. “And how, might I ask, do you know about that?” He straightens his back as he keeps his eyes locked on the woman he somewhat underestimated. “Klaus isn’t exactly fond of sharing personal stories with just anyone.”_

_“Well, I’m not just anyone.” Emily smiles over the rim of her glass. She’s pleased that she has the upper hand now, but still remains cautious. After all, this man is almost as old as the Mikaelsons and could easily hurt her._

_“How do you know Klaus?” Lucien presses since he’s not satisfied with her answer._

_Emily shrugs. “Let’s just say I prefer my man a bit older.” She tries to play it casual as she pushes away the various feelings that surface whenever she talks about Niklaus._

_Lucien assumes she might be flirting and a sly smile makes its way onto his lips. “In that case I think we’ll get along just fine.”_


	10. Date night (part 3)

_ London, 1948. _

_Emily hums softly and cuddles closer to the body next to her. A muscular arm tightens around her waist and for a moment Emily thinks she’s lying next to Niklaus and that the past few decades have been a bad dream. But she’s brought back to reality when the person next to her speaks up._  
  
_“Good morning, love.” Lucien smirks when he notices she’s awake. Emily manages to keep her composure when she finds out who she’s sharing a bed with, but she can feel her heart sink once her mind catches up._

_Lucien’s hand strokes up and down her bare side as they both remember the night before. After successfully “talking” the witches out of a possible war they went for a drink and ended up in bed together. Emily had to admit she liked the attention Lucien gave her. It had been a while since anyone looked at her the way he did._

_Knowing she most likely won’t return to Niklaus, Emily decides to make the most of this and presses a kiss to Lucien’s chest. “Morning.” She whispers as she tangles her legs with his._

_Lucien smiles at the gesture and cups her cheek with his free hand. He tilts her head up so she looks up at him. His eyes take in her face; he is infatuated with Emily. He hasn’t been this intrigued by anyone since Aurora and he wants to savor this moment. After watching her for a while he tilts his head to kiss her and she immediately responds._

_Emily wraps her arms around his neck as he rolls on top of her. “Now, what would you say if we celebrated a bit more?” He suggests as he raises his eyebrows._

_Emily nods slightly before she pulls him back in for a kiss. He makes her feel wanted and desirable, something she hasn’t felt in a long time and she wants to enjoy every second of it._

* * *

New Orleans, present day.

Niklaus and Emily finished their dinner and are walking along the streets of New Orleans, when Niklaus notices she’s cold. He quickly shrugs off his jacket and gently drapes it over her shoulders. “Thank you.” She gives him a soft smile as she looks up at him.

He simply nods in return. A gentle smile has been on his lips ever since it became clear Emily wants to make their relationship work as well. Niklaus continues to watch her as she takes in the city she’s missed for the past century and they walk around in silence.

“It’s strange.” She eventually speaks up. “Everything seems different, but at the same time familiar.” She wonders out loud. “You have no idea how good it feels to be back here after spending most of the past century in Birmingham.” Emily tells him as her eyes take in all the different colors around her. “Birmingham is one of the most gloomy and grey cities I’ve ever seen. It’s so nice to finally have some color around again.”

“I can imagine.” Niklaus says as he places a gentle hand on the small of her back to lead her around the corner in the direction of the compound. He really does understand what she means; the colors around him seem a lot livelier now that Emily is here again. “Would you like to come in for a drink or would you prefer if I walked you home?” He asks as they stop in front of the compound. “The rest of the family should be in as well.” He quickly adds, so she doesn’t get the wrong impression. Though he would love to have a drink with her and have her stay the night afterwards, he realizes it’s too soon.

Emily smiles softly. “I think I can come in for a moment.” She answers and the smile on Niklaus’ face grows as he leads her inside. When they step into the compound they’re faced with the entire family spread out on two couches and a few chairs.

Niklaus isn’t surprised, he heard them when he was still standing outside with Emily. If Emily is surprised she doesn’t show it. “So, a drink?” Kol suggests and Emily nods as she lets Niklaus lead her to a free space on the couch next to Rebekah. She places Niklaus’ jacket over the back of the couch before taking a seat 

“Thank you.” Emily smiles as Kol hands her a drink and she watches as Niklaus pours himself one as well. “So I assume you were talking about us.” She states confidently as she leans back against the couch and takes a sip of her drink.

Rebekah and Kol smirk at her statement and Elijah smiles as well as they all think the same thing; she hasn’t changed. Niklaus proudly grins as he walks towards her and sits down by her side. “Well you can’t blame us.” Rebekah starts. “You and Nik getting back together is quite a big deal.”

Kol nods in agreement. “And we had to bring the newbies up to speed.” The youngest Mikaelson brother adds as he gestures to Hayley and Freya.

“Of course.” Emily shakes her head but smiles none the less. “I do hope they only told the good parts?” She asks as she turns to Freya and Hayley, who both still look very curious.

“We haven’t heard anything bad so far.” Hayley assures her. “They all seem to love you.” She adds. Hayley watches curiously as Niklaus drapes his arm over Emily’s shoulders and Emily leans against his side. It’s the first real interaction she has seen between the couple and she’s very curious how they are when they’re together; how Niklaus is around the woman he loves.

“I still have a few questions though.” Freya leans forward and Emily nods as a sign for her to go on. “So you’re this super powerful witch right?” She starts and Emily nods again as she places her glass on the coffee-table before returning to Niklaus’ side. Rebekah and Elijah share a hopeful smile as they watch Emily place a hand on Niklaus’ leg. “How powerful exactly? You see, I’m a thousand-year-old witch myself and I’m quite curious to see what you can do.” Freya explains her question.

Emily sighs and Niklaus pulls her a bit closer to his side to offer some support. Rebekah does the same by taking Emily’s hand in her own. “So powerful that my body can’t handle all of it.” Emily tells Freya. “As a witch grows older he or she gathers more power and a human body is made to carry the power of one human life. Carrying the power of several human lives can get a bit much.”

“Then how do you keep it from destroying you?” Hayley asks as she leans forward as well.

“Well, you can let it flow out to something that is strong enough to hold that much power. I have to do that when I feel like too much of it is building up inside of me.” Emily says as she squeezes Rebekah’s hand. “I used to send it into Nik; he could handle the power and it was a safe place to let it out.” She says as her eyes move to Niklaus, who is already looking at her. “Nowadays I try to find places where it’s safe to let it into the ground. Nature is generally a safe place to let it out, but I have to make sure it doesn’t reach some ancestral ground or else they might get too powerful.”

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Niklaus speaks up. “I can be your outlet again.” He says as he looks into her eyes. “If you’ll let me.” He adds in a whisper.


	11. Trust issues

New Orleans, present day.

Emily blushes at Niklaus’ intense gaze and opens her mouth to respond when her phone rings. “Sorry.” She mutters as she looks away from Niklaus to see who is calling. “I should take this.” She says when she sees Marcel’s name on her screen. Niklaus nods and Emily quickly stands up. She takes a few steps away from everyone, though she knows they will be able to hear the conversation anyway, she also knows that if she steps away from them they will give her some privacy. “Hello.”

“Hey.” Marcel answers. “I thought you were going to see Klaus tonight, what’s with the cryptic invite?” He asks bluntly.

Emily furrows her eyebrows and steps towards the Mikaelsons again, giving them permission to listen in and they all immediately do. “I’m with Nik right now, what invite are you talking about?” Emily asks while everyone in the room, well except for Freya, listens in on the conversation, even Finn who hasn’t said a word since Emily and Niklaus came in.

“I got a text from Tommy, saying you wanted to go over some change in the plan.” Marcel furrows his eyebrows and stops walking. He was on his way to his car, but he’s not sure he should go now. “He said you wanted to meet at the house in fifteen minutes. Should I not go?”

“You should go.” Emily’s eyes find Niklaus, who raises his eyebrows at her in question. “I’ll meet you there.” She adds before she hangs up. “I thought Tommy had learned his lesson about making plans behind my back, looks like I was wrong.” She shakes her head as she reaches for her purse. “I had a lovely evening, Nik, thank you.” She smiles at him. “Well, good night everyone.” She nods at the others and is about to leave when Niklaus stops her.

“I’ll come with you.” He states as he stands up and grabs his jacket from the couch before he walks towards her. The tone of his voice tells her he won’t back down and she has to admit she’s happy about it. So she simply nods and lets him drape the jacket over her shoulders again before she takes the arm he’s offering and they walk out the door.

“Looks like our family will soon be complete again.” Elijah says as he turns to the others. Rebekah smiles gleefully; she’s incredibly happy to have her sister back again, though she understands she will have to give her brother and Emily time to fully reconnect first.

* * *

 

Back at the house Marcel just steps into the living-room where the Shelby’s are gathered. “Where’s Emily?” He plays dumb as he looks around the room.

“She’s running late.” Tommy says as he gestures to a seat. He has to admit he’s somewhat nervous about this plan and it’s definitely not perfect, but it’s the only thing they could think of this last minute. “We’ll have to start without her.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Emily puts on a fake smile as she steps into the living-room followed by Niklaus. Tommy clenches his jaw while the other Shelby’s tense up. Niklaus smirks as he notices the fear on their faces as they look from Emily to him and back. “Please, do tell me what changes I made to the plan.” Emily goes on as she fakes interest and keeps her eyes on Tommy.

Most of the Shelby’s look down in slight shame, but Tommy keeps his head up. He notices the jacket that is hanging over Emily’s shoulders. His jaw clenches at the thought of the hybrid’s smell lingering on Emily.

Niklaus proudly stands next to his wife and places a supportive hand on her back. Marcel notices the gesture, and he also sees that Emily responds to the touch by leaning closer to Niklaus. He’s surprised that he feels happy about the small interaction. But if he’s completely honest with himself he has to admit that he has always hoped that Emily and Niklaus would find each other again. When he was growing up they were the prime example of love and when they fell apart Marcel lost faith in love. In his mind there was no hope for him to find a love that would last if even his parents couldn’t stay together.

“I was just looking out for my family.” Tommy speaks up. “You may trust _him_ -“ He says with slight disgust as he gestures at Niklaus. “-but that doesn’t mean we do. The Mikaelsons will look out for no one but themselves, so I had to take measures to protect _my_ family.”

“Because I would just let you all die?” Emily sounds insulted. “You know, I thought I had become part of your family over the past century.” She’s hurt that he thinks she wouldn’t keep them safe.

“You are.” Ada speaks up. “Tommy’s just being paranoid. He had flashbacks to when that super old vampire came to London and you disappeared on us for a few weeks.” She explains. Tommy tries to interrupt her, but Ada goes on. “No Tommy, it can’t go on like this.” She says to her brother before she turns back to Emily. “He’s scared you’ll leave again now that you’re with Klaus. I know you didn’t actually leave with that other guy, but we can all see it’s different now and that scares him.”

Emily is about to open her mouth when Tommy breaks the glass he was holding and storms out the door. “I’ll go.” Polly says as she walks out as well. She gives Emily’s arm a comforting squeeze as she walks past her.

Emily sighs and then does something that used to be completely normal; she seeks comfort with her husband. She wraps her arms around Niklaus’ torso and leans her head on his shoulder. Niklaus’ stops breathing for a moment but quickly recovers and wraps his arms around her as well. He holds her close and presses a kiss to her forehead. He closes his eyes as he relishes in the feeling of holding her close again. “So, you two are actually married?” Finn breaks the silence; he can’t hide his curiosity anymore.

Emily smiles against Niklaus’ chest and lifts her head to look at the youngest Shelby. “Yes.” She tells him. “And you can trust him, I promise you that.” She adds as she looks at the others in the room.

“You are Emily’s family.” Niklaus speaks up now. “Which makes you my family as well.” He states and his eyes move to Arthur, who nods at him in acknowledgement. Emily looks up at him and smiles. His authoritative voice and resolute words make her feel better. The familiar feeling of his arms around her sooths any worries she had about Tommy.

“Well, we should head up.” Ada says as she stands up; she feels like Emily and Niklaus need a moment alone after this. “We have a lot of work tomorrow.” She adds as she ushers her brothers and Michael out of the room.

“So.” Marcel speaks up after the Shelby’s have left. Both Emily and Niklaus turn their heads to look at him and Emily lets go of Niklaus to face Marcel. “I take it tonight went well before I called?”

Emily nods and Niklaus smiles as his gaze moves from Marcel to Emily. “I’m more than sure we can work everything out.” He says as he takes her hand in his.

Marcel nods and as he looks at their joined hands a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. “I should get going.” He then adds and gives Emily a quick hug before he disappears as well. 

“Do I want to know what ‘super old vampire’ you disappeared with?” Niklaus asks carefully. He doesn’t want to ruin the progress they made tonight, but he knows he won’t be able to stop thinking about it.

“Probably not.” She says as she turns to face him. “But I’ll tell you anyway.” She goes on as she gives him a half-hearted smile. “I did some business with Lucien Castle after the Second World War. After that he offered me a bit of adventure.” She tells him as she looks down at their still joined hands. “I had been cooped up in England with very little excitement for too long, so I took him up on his offer and we travelled for a few weeks.” Emily shakes her head at the memory; if she had known she would find her way back to Niklaus she never would have gone with Lucien.

“Well, I can imagine how Thomas felt.” Niklaus says as he gives her hand a comforting squeeze to let her know this won’t be a problem for their relationship. “Losing you is awful; I speak from experience.” He adds and she looks up at him again. She’s slightly surprised at his reaction. “We’ve both physically been with other people over the past hundred years, Emily, and we both need to accept that from the other and move on if we want to make this work.” He tells her. 

Emily nods as she brings her hand up to his face. She cups his cheek and for a moment he thinks she’s going to kiss him, but she wraps her arm around his neck and pulls him in for a hug. They embrace each other tightly and stand like that for about ten minutes. Niklaus finds himself smiling as she relaxes against him. He knows they’re not there yet, but they’ve made a lot of progress tonight. Emily closes her eyes as she breaths in his familiar scent; for the first time in over a century she feels safe.

Emily is the first one to pull away. “I was wondering if you and your family would mind coming a bit early to the party on Friday.” She says as she takes a small step back to create some distance between them. She’s afraid she might ask him to stay the night if she doesn’t. “After all we want the witches to align with you. They need to see we’re a package deal.” She explains.

Niklaus nods. “We’ll be there.” He promises her as he lifts his hand up and gently cups her cheek. Emily holds her breath as his thumb strokes her cheek and he steps closer. “Good night Emily.” He mutters before he presses a kiss to her forehead and walks out the door.


	12. Jewelry for a queen

_Rome, 1948. _

_“See, this is much better than the dark streets of Birmingham.” Lucien grins at Emily as they make their way to a hotel somewhere in Rome. Emily enjoys the sun on her skin and the light colors of the city as she follows Lucien._

_“It is.” She says softly, but he hears her loud and clear. A valet opens the door of the hotel for them and Lucien places his hand on the small of her back to guide her inside._

_“Your best room.” Lucien tells the person at the reception and soon enough they’re in a suite with a nice view over the city._

_“It’s beautiful.” Emily says as she stands on the balcony overlooking the city. Lucien admires her for a moment. She fits so much better in these surroundings than in Birmingham and once again he wonders how this beautiful woman ended up in such a murky city._

_“Not as beautiful as you.” He shamelessly flirts as he stands behind her and places his hands on the railing of the balcony on each side of her, effectively locking her in place. “A woman like you shouldn’t live in a city full of dirt. Birmingham doesn’t deserve you.” He mutters in her ear. “You need to live in a worthier city.” He goes on and she turns her head to look at him. “And with a worthier man than Thomas Shelby.” He adds before he leans in to kiss her._

_Emily ignores his comment about Tommy, since she’s not living with Tommy in the way Lucien assumes, and responds to his kiss. She turns around between his arms and wraps hers around his neck to pull him closer. Lucien’s hands leave the railing of the balcony to wrap around her body and he lifts her into his arms. She giggles against his lips and he smiles in return before he kisses her again._

_He carries her inside and places her down on the bed. “So beautiful.” He mutters as his lips trail from her mouth down to her neck. She smells delicious and it takes a lot of restraint not to bite down on the soft skin of her neck to find out what she tastes like. Luckily, he has built up a lot of restraint over the course of almost a thousand years. His attention is taken away from her neck when she wraps her legs around his waist._

* * *

 

New Orleans, present day.

Emily approaches Tommy as he sits in the living-room sipping some whiskey. He straightens up when he hears her walk up to him. “I was just looking out for my family.” Tommy says as she sits down across from him. “You can’t expect us to trust these people after just meeting them.”

“I know.” Emily says and for just a second she can see her response surprised him, but it’s gone as soon as it appeared. “I understand that you can’t just trust them yet, but I thought you trusted me.” She says and Tommy looks down at his drink; he feels like a child being scolded by his mother.

“I do.” He says as he looks back up. “I just feared you would be blinded by your feelings for Niklaus.” He goes on as he finishes his drink and puts the glass down on the table.

“You’re my family Tommy.” Emily says as she leans forward. “I wouldn’t do something that would put you or the others in danger. I didn’t even want you to come here in the first place.”

“I know.” Tommy sighs as he shakes his head. “I should have trusted you.” They’re both silent for a while after that, until Tommy can no longer stop himself. “So things are going well between you and Niklaus?” He asks casually, but it’s eating him up on the inside.

Emily smiles and it’s a smile he has never seen on her face before, so soft that he almost feels bad for disliking the original. “Yes, things are heading in the right direction.” She nods slowly. “But it will take some more time before we can go back to the way it was.”

* * *

 

Friday comes around sooner than Emily expected, and she’s just trying to zip up her dress when she hears the doorbell. Someone downstairs opens the door and she assumes it’s the Mikaelsons. It doesn’t take long before she hears footsteps walking up the stairs and into her room. “Hello love.” The familiar accent sounds through her room and she looks in the mirror to see Niklaus with a bouquet of poppies. “Do you need a hand?” He asks as he watches her struggle with the zip of her dress.

Emily nods and she watches him place the flowers down and walk towards her. Her breath hitches as he gently removes her hair from her back and his fingers brush over her skin. She holds his gaze in the mirror as he pulls the zip up and lets his hand trail down her back until he lets it fall by his side. “Thank you.” She whispers as she blushes, and unlike last time she doesn’t fight it.

He smiles softly and leans forward to kiss her cheek. “You look absolutely stunning.” He mutters in her ear before he reveals a square velvet box from behind his back. “Those are for you.” He gestures to the flowers. “And I wanted to give you this.” He smiles as he places one hand on her hip and moves the other one with the box to her front.

“Thank you.” She says again as she takes the box from his hand and she feels that hand move to her hip as well. Emily opens the box to find a necklace inside. It’s not just any necklace; Niklaus gave this one to her on their 20th wedding anniversary. She wore it a lot and left it in New Orleans when she left, because she feared it would be too strong of a reminder to their happier times. “I can’t believe you kept it.” She whispers, her voice breaking with emotion.

“I kept everything that belonged to you.” He tells her. “Well, everything I didn’t lose when I had to flee the city.” He admits as he thinks of when his father chased him and his siblings out of New Orleans.

Emily takes the necklace out of the box and Niklaus quickly takes the box out of her hands to put it away before he returns to her. His hands find their way back to her hips as she looks at the necklace in her hands. “Can you fasten it?” She asks softly as she lifts the necklace around her neck.

Niklaus nods and lets go of her hips to fasten the necklace. He can’t stop himself from pressing a kiss to the skin of her neck like he always used to do. “Jewelry fit for a queen.” He mutters as his eyes catch hers in the mirror.

Emily blushes again and looks down at her hands. “We should go downstairs.” She suggests, but she has to hide her disappointment when she feels him move away from her body. After taking one more look in the mirror and brushing her fingers over the necklace she turns towards Niklaus.

“Shall we?” He asks as he holds out his arm. She takes it with a smile and they make their way down the stairs to the hallway, where Tommy and Elijah are discussing something. Both men look up when they hear Emily and Niklaus come down; Elijah with a smile and Tommy with a slight frown.

“You look beautiful, Emilia.” Elijah says as he steps forward and takes her free hand to lead her down the last few steps before he presses a kiss to the back of it. He can see the love his brother’s eyes hold when he looks at Emily and is beyond happy that she is back in their lives.

“Thank you, Elijah.” Emily smiles as she squeezes his hand before letting it go and placing it on Niklaus’ arm as she moves closer to him. “You look smart as ever.” She adds with a playful smile, which Elijah returns.

Tommy clears his throat and they all turn their heads towards him. “Ada said there was something with the catering she wanted you to look at.” He tells Emily, who excuses herself before she makes her way to the kitchen. “I’m surprised you trusted us to arrange this party.” Tommy turns to the two men as soon as Emily is out of earshot.

Elijah and Niklaus share a look before focusing on the man in front of them. “I trust my wife.” Niklaus tells him. “And for whatever reason, she trusts you.” He adds. Though Niklaus believes Emily was honest when she told him nothing was going on between her and Tommy, he can see that Tommy feels more for Emily than she thinks.

“She was very guarded when she first joined us.” Tommy says. “She didn’t trust anyone. For a while she even used a different name.” He goes on and Elijah straightens up even more than he usually does as he senses that Tommy doesn’t have good intentions for Niklaus. “We later learned she was actually an incredibly warm and trusting person, so someone must have betrayed her trust for her to have become so guarded.” Tommy says as he looks Niklaus up and down. “She means a lot to me and my family and, unlike some people, we would never betray her trust.” He says before he walks away.

Niklaus tensed up during Tommy’s little speech. For a moment he wondered if Emily told Tommy the exact reason she left, but he knows she wouldn’t; she hadn’t even told Marcel. “He’s in love with her.” Elijah states as he looks at his brother, who just nods as he watches Tommy walk into the ballroom.


	13. Rekindling old flames

New Orleans, present day.

When Emily has taken care of everything with the catering she makes her way back to the hall where she is greeted by Kol. “Emily.” He smiles as he sees her. Emily smiles in return before her eyes drift to the young woman standing next to him. “This is Davina. Davina this Emily.” He introduces them.

“It’s so nice to meet you.” Davina says as she shakes Emily’s hand. “Marcel told me a lot about you.”

Emily smiles at her. “He told me a lot about you as well.” She says. “He didn’t mention that you were seeing Kol though.”

Davina rolls her eyes. “He doesn’t really like it.” She tells Emily, who nods in understanding. “He can be very protective.”

“A little too protective if you ask me, darling.” Kol speaks up as he drapes his arm over Davina’s shoulders. “She’s perfectly safe with me, wouldn’t you agree Emily?” He smiles at Emily in the hope that she will get Marcel off his back.

“Well, you have quite the reputation, so you can’t blame Marcel for being a bit weary.” She answers and Kol gives her a pleading look, which he has used on Emily many times before over the centuries. “But I’ll put in a good word for you.” She adds and the couple smiles gratefully before they walk into the ballroom. Emily smiles as she watches them; she’s happy Kol found someone.

“Who do you want to greet the guests with?” Tommy startles her slightly and she quickly turns around to face him. “Should I get Niklaus?” He asks as he avoids her gaze by looking at the front door.

“I was hoping you would greet them with me.” Emily says and Tommy is somewhat surprised. He thought things were going very well with Emily and Niklaus and that she would want to greet the guests with her husband. Emily has been thinking about it. She wanted to introduce the Shelby’s to the New Orleans society as well, so it seemed best if she greeted the guests with Tommy.

* * *

 

The party is well underway and Emily watches from the side as people dance and mingle. When the witches first came in they seemed surprised and suspicious of the vampires attending the party, but as time went on, and with some meddling from Emily, they seemed to be getting along. Marcel had turned up with some of his better recruits as well. Emily’s eyes find Niklaus, who is having a friendly conversation with one of the witches. He feels her eyes on him and sends her a smile before he focuses on the conversation again.

She feels a hand on the small of her back and when she turns her head she’s shocked by who she sees. “Hello, love.” Lucien smirks. “I’m sorry I’m a bit late, it seems my invitation got lost in the mail.”

“Lucien.” She breaths out as she steps away from him so his hand falls from her back. “What are you doing here?” She asks him and her eyes quickly dart around the room in search of Niklaus, but she can’t see him anymore.

“Well, I came here because my sire is in danger.” He explains. “But when I heard you were in town I had to see you.” He’s about to say something else, but Niklaus cuts him off.

“And why do you think my wife would want to see you, old friend?” He asks as he places his hand on the small of Emily’s back and she moves a bit closer to him. Emily isn’t sure if she’s glad Niklaus is here. She doesn’t want to be around Lucien alone after what happened between them, but she also doesn’t want a fight to break out between them in the middle of the party.

A small flicker of surprise crosses Lucien’s face when Niklaus makes clear Emily is his wife, but he quickly covers it up. “Calm down, Nik.” He smirks. “I just want to apologize.” He assures Niklaus as he shifts his gaze back to Emily. “Which I would have done in ’48 if you hadn’t vanished before I returned.” He raises his eyebrows at the only woman that ever made him forget about Aurora. “I truly am sorry.” He finishes.

Emily nods and gives him a small smile. “Let’s just forget it happened.” She sighs as she straightens up. Her mind is running wild. If she’s completely honest what Lucien did to chase her away is the same thing Niklaus did. The only difference was that Niklaus broke centuries of trust, while Lucien only broke a companionship of a few weeks. The whole thing makes her doubt her relationship with Niklaus. Maybe she has forgiven him too easily, but then again it technically took her over a hundred years to forgive him. 

“I couldn’t agree more.” Lucien smiles while Niklaus tries to figure out what has his wife thinking so hard. He wonders what Lucien did, that was still worth apologizing for after all these years. It also made him realize that he hadn’t apologized. Of course he apologized all those years ago, but maybe he needed to do it again. After all his mistake still haunts him, so maybe it still haunts her as well. “Would you like to dance, love?” Lucien’s voice breaks both Niklaus and Emily out of their trance.

Niklaus is about to dismiss Lucien, but Emily speaks up first. “I’d love to.” She answers as she takes Lucien’s outstretched hand and lets him lead her to the dance floor. She needs a moment away from Niklaus, who is left staring after them with a frown on his face. And maybe, just maybe, she would actually like to dance with Lucien.

“So.” Lucien starts after they’ve been dancing in silence for a while. “You and Niklaus are married. You never told me that.” He states. “I always assumed you two just had a fling in the 1200’s or something.”

“It would have been a lot easier if that were the case.” The words leave her lips before she fully realizes what she’s saying. “We were separated when I met you, I didn’t think it mattered.” She shrugs lightly.

“Well, I would have liked to know.” Lucien tells her as he watches her face. She’s not looking at him and he wonders why she agreed to dance with him in the first place. “Why did you agree to dance with me?” He asks and smiles when she turns her head and their eyes meet.

“It seemed like the polite thing to do.” Emily tells him, but she’s knows it doesn’t sound convincing at all. “And maybe I’m feeling a bit nostalgic.” She adds with a smile as she remembers when they went dancing in Rome.

“We did have fun for a while, didn’t we?” Lucien grins as he thinks back to the time they spent together as well. “You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.” He mutters as he twirls her around before bringing her back to his chest.

Niklaus watches from a distance as his wife blushes slightly at Lucien’s words. He clenches his jaw and is about to shatter his glass when Rebekah takes it out of his hand. “Careful Nik, you don’t want to ruin Emily’s plan by getting into a fight in front of her guests.” She tells him as she stands next to him and looks at Emily and Lucien. “I thought things were going well between the two of you?” Rebekah furrows her eyebrows as she watches Emily smile at the vampire she’s dancing with.

“So did I.” Niklaus mutters as he keeps a close eye on them. His jaw clenches when Lucien moves his hand a bit lower, but he relaxes slightly when he sees Emily move his hand back up.

“Go to her.” Rebekah speaks up again and he gives her a doubtful look. “Just cut in like you’ve done a million times when other people danced with her at events like these.” She pushes. “You know how much she loves dancing with you.”

Niklaus nods to himself, she always dragged him onto the dance floor at parties. He makes his way to the two of them and clears his throat to make his presence known. “May I?” He asks as he keeps his eyes on Emily.

She excuses herself to Lucien, who walks towards the bar, before she takes the hand he’s holding out. She lets out a soft sigh at the familiar feeling of his hand on her waist and her hand finds its way to his shoulder as they dance together. “Took you longer than it used to.” She teases him a little.

Niklaus raises his eyebrows at her remark, but she can see a smile tug at the corners of his lips. “Well, back then I didn’t have to suppress the urge to kill the man you were dancing with.” He tells her as he pulls her a little closer. “It would’ve ruined your party.”

They dance in silence for a while before Emily speaks up again. “I’m sorry if I upset you by agreeing to dance with Lucien.” She says as she lightly shakes her head. “When he asked I just got this strange feeling of nostalgia.”

Niklaus nods as he looks into her eyes. “I’m sorry too, for-“ He starts to apologize, but is cut of when the music stops and the light go out. They hear people screaming and before he realizes what’s going on people move around them and he loses Emily amongst them.


	14. A night to remember

New Orleans, present day.

When the lights go back on Niklaus’ eyes franticly look around in search for Emily. He ignores the wounded people around him and steps over several dead bodies as he starts to panic when he doesn’t see her. “Nik!” He suddenly hears her voice and he immediately rushes towards her.

Tommy looks on as Niklaus rushes to Emily. He was on his way to her himself, but then she called out to Niklaus. He clenches his jaw as he watches them.

“It’s alright, love.” Niklaus mutters as he wraps his arms around her. She has a wound on her head and feels dizzy. “I’ve got you.” He assures her as he lifts her up bridal style. She rests her head against his shoulder and her eyes slowly close as he looks around the room to spot his family. He sees a message written in blood on the wall: _we will win_.

“You should take her upstairs, my guys and I will take care of everything down here.” Marcel’s voice takes his attention away from the wall. Niklaus watches as Marcel’s eyes move to Emily and he brushes his hand over her skin near the wound. “You just make sure she’s alright.” Marcel tells Niklaus, who nods at him before he turns around and walks up the stairs.

He carries her to her bedroom and gently places her down on the bed. He strokes her hair away from her face and sighs. He will have to wait until she wakes up. He doesn’t want to feed her his blood without her consent. While he waits he listens to Marcel and Elijah, who are talking to the survivors downstairs. They’re telling them about Hernandez and offering the wounded witches vampire blood to heal.

He gently holds onto Emily’s hand as he sits beside her and sends his sister a sad smile when she comes into the room. “Our family is fine and so are the Shelby’s.” Rebekah tells him as she places a comforting hand on his shoulder. They both hold their breath when they hear Emily groan. They know she can’t actually die, but just the thought of her in pain pulls at their heartstrings.

Rebekah squeezes Niklaus’ shoulder and moves out of the room to give them some privacy when she notices that Emily is waking up. Niklaus moves closer to her on the bed and softly strokes his thumb over her knuckles as he watches her eyes flutter open. “Nik?” She manages to get out as she tries to sit up.

He helps her up and pulls her sideways onto his lap. “Everyone’s alright.” He assures her and she sighs as she places her head on his shoulder, it hurts to keep her eyes open and holding her head up seems like too much of a task at the moment. “Well, everyone but you.” Niklaus adds as he pulls her closer so her face is hidden in the crook of his neck. “Drink, love, you’ll feel better.” He whispers as he strokes her hair.

She runs her nose along his skin and takes in his scent. She knows his blood will heal her, but blood-sharing is something incredibly intimate and she’s not sure if now is the right time. He patiently waits for her to make a decision, if she doesn’t want to drink from him he’ll pour some of his blood into a glass so she can drink it. They used to share blood just for the intimacy that came with it, but he realizes it might be a bit soon.

Emily moves her mouth closer to the skin of his neck. She remembers how it used to feel to share blood with Niklaus, how united they felt and she craves to be that close to him again. Niklaus is happily surprised when he feels her fangs break his skin and she drinks from him. His fingers continue to move through her hair as he holds her close. He notices her slow down when she has enough to heal and smiles as she lazily drinks from him just because she wants to.

When she pulls away Emily feels dizzy for a whole other reason. Her head is healed, but she’s slightly drunk on Niklaus now as she presses a kiss to the marks that quickly fade from his skin. She stays in his arms as she tries to calm down her breathing. They both enjoy the intimate moment and Niklaus buries his face in her hair as he holds her close.

* * *

 

_Italy, 1257._

_Emily closes her eyes and lets out a content sigh as she basks in the afterglow of her orgasm. Niklaus smiles as he watches her and drapes one of his arms across her stomach. He moves closer to her side and nuzzles his face in the crook of her neck. He almost moans at the delicious smell of her blood as he presses kisses to her skin._

_She moves her head to the side to give him more access and she feels his nose run over her skin as he takes in her scent. She knows he’s wondering what she would taste like. She knows because she’s wondering the exact same thing about him. She places her hand in his hair to keep him close and decides to be the bold one for a change. Niklaus usually takes the lead when it comes to things, but she knows he will never do this if she doesn’t spur him on a little._

_She moves one of her hands to his face and gently strokes his jaw before she moves it to her own neck. Niklaus watches with interest as he wonders what she’ll do next. Emily presses her nail into her skin and drags it down slightly. Niklaus’ breath hitches as a few drops of blood escape her skin and he fights to keep himself under control. “It’s alright, Nik.” She mutters as she tries to pull him closer._

_“Are you sure?” He asks her as he feels his fangs come out and he breaths heavily. He doesn’t want to hurt her. He has always been so careful with her._

_“I’m sure.” She tells him as she leans her head to the side a little more. “I trust you.” She adds and smiles when she feels him move closer to her skin. His tongue collects the few drops that are laying on her skin and he takes a moment to relish the taste._

_“If you want me to stop just pull on my hair, alright?” He asks and waits for her to nod in response before he bites down as carefully as he can. She tastes even better than she smells and he urges himself to drink slowly since he’s still worried about hurting her._

_Emily closes her eyes as she gets used to the strange feeling. It doesn’t hurt and she cards her fingers through Niklaus’ curls as she relaxes in his arms. She trusts him with her life, so she lets him decide when he has had enough._

_He moans softly as he pulls away from her neck and makes sure there’s no blood left on his lips or teeth before he pushes himself up to look at her again. He’s slightly drunk on her blood and as he looks down at Emily he finds her more beautiful than ever before. There’s a smell of sex and blood in the air and she looks up at him through half closed eyes. Her hair is sprawled out on the bed and her head is laying in such a way that he can see the mark his teeth left on her._

_“You look so beautiful right now.” He breaths out as he leans in to kiss her. She hums against his mouth and almost whines when he pulls away again. He grins down at her before he lays down again and pulls her into his side. “Your turn, love.” He tells her as he tilts his head to the side so she has full access to his neck._

_She moves closer to him and presses a few kisses to his skin as she tries to find a good place to bite down. Niklaus is still amazed by the connection they shared when he was drinking from her and he hopes there will be more moments like that. He tenses up for a second as she bites down on his skin since he’s not used to the feeling, but he quickly relaxes._

_Emily almost moans against his skin as she tastes him. They’re more connected than ever before and she reluctantly pulls away after a moment. She watches as the marks fade from his skin and rests her head on his shoulder. “I love you.” She mumbles as her eyes start to close._

_A soft smile spreads across Niklaus’ face as he holds her close. “I love you too.” He whispers as she drifts to sleep._


	15. The witches

New Orleans, present day.

“There’s someone here to see you.” Finn says to Emily as he steps into the living-room where she’s sitting with Tommy. “His name is Vincent. He says he’s the leader of the witches and you met him at your party?” The youngest Shelby furrows his eyebrows.

Emily nods and stands up to walk to the front door. “Vincent, it’s good to see again.” She says and the man turns around to face her. “Come on in.” She gives him a friendly smile and leads him to the living-room. “What can I do for you?” Emily asks as she sits down next to Tommy and gestures for Vincent to take a seat as well.

Vincent hesitates for a second before he sits down across from them. He feels like he’s having a private meeting with the queen; there’s something about Emily that immediately makes her seem important. “One of our elders and two other witches got killed at your party.” Vincent starts as he leans his elbows on his knees. “We would like it if you attended the ceremony where we let their magic join the ancestors.”

“I’m really sorry for your loss, and the loss of the coven.” Emily says. “And I’d be honored to be there.”

“You understand that we do not allow vampires to attend these ceremonies.” Vincent says pointedly as he glances at Tommy before he focuses back on Emily, who nods in understanding. “We would also like you to join our coven. Or at least form an alliance with us so we can make sure that the people who did this won’t cause more trouble.”

Tommy has to suppress a grin; their plan is working out perfectly. “I think we can all agree that Hernandez needs to be stopped.” Emily says. “I am more than willing to talk to you and the elders about an alliance and maybe more.”

“Good.” Vincent nods as he looks down at his hands. “Alliances with vampires aren’t popular among the witches, so it might be difficult to get everyone to accept you if you continue to keep the same company.” He says hesitantly. He doubts his words will have much impact on Emily, but at least he can tell the witches that he tried.

“With all due respect, Vincent, but it’s up to me to decide what company I keep.” Emily straightens her back and Vincent almost feels like he should apologize. “I can assure you that neither the Shelby’s nor the Mikaelsons mean any harm to the witches.”

* * *

 

Elijah, Hayley and Niklaus are sitting around the dining table after lunch. Hope is sitting on her mother’s lap as they wait for Emily to show up. She has just been to the cemetery to meet with the witches and said she would stop by afterwards. Niklaus thinks it’s time for her to meet Hope, so he discussed the matter with Hayley, who agreed after talking about it with Elijah.

Their heads all turn to the door when they hear footsteps coming their way. “Good.” They hear Emily say and when she appears in the doorway they see she’s on the phone. “I’ll see you tonight then.” She says as her eyes move along the people in the room and land on Hope. “I have to go now, bye.” She quickly ends the conversation and puts her phone away. “Hey.” She greets them with a smile.

They greet her in return before Niklaus stands up and walks towards Hayley to take Hope from her. He carries his daughter to Emily. “Emily, I’d like you to meet my daughter.” He smiles as he looks down at the little girl. “This is Hope.”

Emily smiles at the small blonde and reaches out to stroke her cheek. “She’s adorable.” She says softly as the girl takes one of her fingers in her hand. Niklaus watches them interact for a while and his hand automatically seems to find Emily’s waist. As soon as she feels Niklaus’ hand she leans closer to his side as she continues to coo at Hope.

Elijah and Hayley watch from a distance and when Elijah looks at Hayley he finds her smiling. It surprises him how easily Hayley has accepted Emily’s presence. He’s glad to see it though, this way his family really can become whole.

Hayley felt a pang in her chest the first few seconds she watched Emily, Niklaus and Hope; the three of them immediately looked like a family and she felt somewhat jealous. But she quickly realized that Emily is exactly what the family needs. Niklaus needs someone by his side, and the way he acts around her is something Hayley has only ever seen around Hope.

“How did everything go with the witches?” Elijah asks as they move to the living-room, where Niklaus puts Hope down on a blanket with some toys.

Emily sighs. “Not too great.” She answers honestly as she sits down on one of the couches. She’s soon joined by Niklaus, who gives her a questioning look as he drapes his arm over her shoulders. “Vincent and two of the elders want an alliance with me because they realize it could be very lucrative, but the other elders and most of the witches in the coven don’t trust me because of the company I keep.” She says as she gestures at the vampires around her before she rests her hand on Niklaus’ knee.

“But we’re such great company.” Kol’s voice sounds as he steps into the room followed by Davina. He flops down on a chair and Davina shakes her head with a smile as she takes place on the arm of the chair.

“Apparently the hatred for vampires runs very deep.” Emily goes on, though she sends Kol a small smile. “But they’ll come to their senses soon enough.” She smirks as she leans against Niklaus. He notices that she’s a little tense, like she’s trying to restrain herself. Niklaus knows she used to get like that when it was time for her to let some of her magic out.

“What did you do?” Elijah asks her as he narrows his eyes; he knows that look and it usually means trouble. Niklaus on the other hand has a proud grin on his face as he looks at his wife. He knows he’s probably responsible for corrupting the innocent young girl they picked up in that Dutch village all those centuries ago, but he doesn’t feel bad about it. Her plans pretty much always work and she gets that lovely glint in her eyes when she’s scheming something.

“I may have caused a problem they won’t be able to fix without me.” Emily shrugs as if it’s no big deal. “I expect Vincent to ask for help sometime tomorrow. I will explain to them that I really need blood of an original vampire to fix things and that will make them realize that both I and the company I keep are valuable allies.” She explains and she enjoys the proud look on Niklaus’ face as she glances up at him.

“Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly love you more.” Niklaus mutters as he pulls her closer and a blush creeps up her cheeks as the words leave his lips. It’s been so long since she last heard him say that and a warm feeling spreads in her chest.

Niklaus slightly tenses up after the words leave his mouth and the others in the room feel the slight tension in the air as they all wait for Emily’s reaction. She gives his knee a light squeeze but doesn’t say it back.

* * *

 

Emily sits on the grass in the garden of the house she still shares with the Shelby’s. She feels bad for not saying it back to Niklaus. Things were a bit awkward after that and Emily felt terrible when she saw the distant look on Niklaus’ face. She just wasn’t ready and she has no idea how long it will take before she will be.

“There you are.” Marcel’s voice breaks her out of her thoughts. “I’ve been looking all over for you. How did everything go with the witches?” He asks, but he frowns when he sees the look on her face. “What did Klaus do?” He asks now as he stops in front of her. She gives him a questioning look; how does he know this has to do with Niklaus? “You have the same look on your face as you had in the 1800s if Klaus did something that bothered you.” He explains as he sits down. “What is it?”

Emily stays silent for a moment as she takes in the man in front of her. He has grown up to be an amazing man and she feels proud to call him her son. “He didn’t do anything bad, he just told me he loves me.” She tells him and she tries to force a smile on her lips.

“And that’s bad because..?” Marcel trails off. All he wants is for Emily to be happy. As happy as she was when she and Niklaus first took him in. The love they shared was so pure and strong, that Marcel refuses to believe it’s gone.

“I didn’t say it back.” Emily admits as she looks down at her hands. “I’m just not ready.” She adds as she lets out a shaky sigh. “I think I need to create some distance between me and Nik, so I can figure out what I really want.”

“He won’t like that.” Marcel states as he looks at her. “But if that’s what you think is best…” He trails off as Emily looks up at him again.

She’s about to say something when her phone beeps.

From Lucien:  
Red or white wine for dinner tonight?


	16. Letting it out

New Orleans, present day.

Emily was right; Vincent came to ask for her help and she called Kol for the original blood she ‘needed’ for the spell. He was more than willing to help, though he had to admit he was a little surprised she didn’t call Niklaus. He thought things were going well between them, well aside from the whole ‘I love you’ thing.

“So.” Kol starts as they enter a bar somewhere in the French quarter. “Want to tell me why you didn’t ask Nik to help you?” He raises his eyebrows as he sits across from her in a boot in the back.

Emily sighs and rests her head in her hands. “I did something stupid, Kol.” She mutters as she looks down at the table. “Something incredibly stupid.”

Kol furrows his eyebrows; he had noticed something was off with her today, but this seems very serious. “What is it?” He asks and when Emily looks up at him she can see the concern in his eyes. “Emily, tell me.” He presses.

“I had dinner with Lucien last night.” She admits as she hangs her head in shame. “When I saw him at the party I got this nostalgic feeling.” She groans as she drops her head down on the table. “Then he apologized and I realized that what he did to hurt me was basically the same thing Nik did, and I just freaked out. I started to doubt why I was forgiving Nik so easily and then the whole ‘I love you’ moment...” She trails off. “I think drinking from him messed with my head.” She adds softly, but Kol hears her loud and clear.

He frowns and tries to understand how she’s feeling. “Look, I don’t know what Nik did to hurt you.” He starts as he reaches for one of her hands. “But I know that he regrets it. He hates himself for whatever he did to you. He kept saying so after you left.” He gives her a small smile when she looks up at him. “And you can’t compare the centuries you spent with Nik to the few weeks you spent with Lucien.” He adds, before he remembers the last thing she said. “Wait! Did you say you drank from him?!” He exclaims as his eyes widen; he knows how much that means to his brother.

Emily nods. “The night of the party.” She admits. “I was hurt and he offered me his blood to heal. He held me and I just couldn’t resist.” She lets out a small sigh as she remembers the taste of him. “It felt so good to be that close to him again.” She whispers.

Kol watches her face for a moment. Now that he has found love himself, he understands what his brother feels for Emily. He knows Emily still loves his brother; she wouldn’t be here if she didn’t. “Then stop pushing him away.” He tells her and he hopes she’ll take his advice. Kol’s frown deepens when he sees her hands ball into fists. She’s been tense the whole the day and now that he thinks about it she was tense when he saw her yesterday as well. “You need to let out your magic, don’t you?” He asks.

“Yes.” She sighs. “I just don’t know where. I can’t send it into the ground, because it will get to the ancestors.” She shares her worries with him.

“Just go to Nik.” He says as he leans back in the boot. “He’s been moping around because he hasn’t heard from you since you left yesterday. It’ll cheer him up and you’ll get to be close to him again.” He says as he remembers Emily’s words.

“I can’t.” Emily shakes her head. “I went to Lucien last night Kol; I messed up.” She sighs as she tries to relax her tense muscles, but it’s no use, there’s too much magic inside of her.

“Did something happen between you and Lucien yesterday?” He asks and Emily shakes her head and is about to speak, but Kol cuts her off. “You didn’t even kiss?” He presses and she shakes her head again. “Then I don’t see how you messed up.”

* * *

 

After the talk and a few drinks Kol and Emily went their separate ways. It takes her another day and a half before she finds herself in front of the compound. The amount of magic inside of her is actually starting to hurt now and she knows she’ll have to let it out very soon. Tommy suggested that she could ask Lucien, since he’s nearly as old as Niklaus, but she actually laughed out loud at that suggestion. The only person she trusts enough for this is Niklaus.

She takes a deep breath before she walks in and finds Elijah and Niklaus with Hope. They both look up when they hear her enter and Elijah gives her a small smile, while she sees a look of relief on Niklaus’ face. “Nik, can I talk to you for a moment?” She asks and she hopes the desperation and pain can’t be heard in her voice.

Niklaus immediately stands up when he takes in her appearance and notices her clenched fists and slightly watery eyes. He nods and passes Hope to his brother as he stands up and leads her to his room; the room they used to share. Right now he doesn’t care that she hasn’t contacted him or that she asked his brother to help her with the witches. All he cares is about is stopping the pain she’s clearly feeling. “Come here.” He says and he holds his hands out like he always did when she needed to let her magic out. 

“No.” Emily breaths out and he furrows his eyebrows as he looks at her. “I need you to know I didn’t just come her to use you for this.” She starts, she had some time to think and she wants to give this a proper chance again. “I’m sorry for not calling you to help with the witches, and I’m sorry for having dinner with Lucien the other night.” She tells him as tears gather in her eyes. “Everything just sort of overwhelmed me and I couldn’t think properly. I really do want to make things work with you, Nik, and I promise I’ll try harder.” She says as a single tear slides down her cheek.

Niklaus watches her for a moment; his frown deepened a little when she said she had dinner with Lucien, but he’s too glad to hear she really wants to work things out to care anymore. “Come here.” He repeats and holds out his hands again. This time she takes them and they both take a deep breath as they prepare for what’s to come.

He keeps his eyes on her as he feels the magic flow into him and he prepares to catch her when he sees she’s nearly done. It drains her energy to bottle up the magic and if she has kept it in too long she usually faints after she lets it flow out. This time is no different and he scoops her up just in time as she sinks to the ground. He carefully places her down on his bed and sits down next to her.

Emily is quick to wake up again and slowly sits up in the bed. “Thank you.” She says softly as she places a hand on his cheek. She’s a little worn out after putting herself through more trouble than necessary and she doesn’t want to put up a façade anymore. Niklaus doesn’t dare to respond as she leans closer to him. He stays still as he waits for her to pull away or change her direction and kiss his cheek, but she doesn’t.

She presses her lips to his and he’s quick to respond. It’s their first kiss in over a hundred years and it makes Emily realize how much she has really missed him. His arms wrap around her waist and he pulls her onto his lap as her arms find their way around his neck. Emily can’t help but let out a moan when he slips his tongue into her mouth as they kiss each other hungrily. They kiss like they’re trying to make up for a hundred years with this one kiss.

Emily eventually has to pull away to breath, but stays close to Niklaus and rests her forehead on his. They just sit there and look into each other’s eyes as they calm their breathing. It suddenly hits her that’s she’s really here with him and that they can actually have a future together. Niklaus frowns as he sees tears gather in her eyes and he tightens his arms around her to pull her closer. “What’s wrong?” He asks softly as she rests her head on his shoulder.

“I missed you so much.” She sniffles as she presses as close to him as she can get. “I’m so sorry.” She cries and Niklaus furrows his eyebrows; she doesn’t have anything to be sorry for in his eyes. “I never should have left.”

“Hey, hey look at me.” Niklaus urges her to sit up and look at him. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” He tells her. “I’m sorry for everything I put you through and I’m so sorry for hurting you like I did. I promise nothing like that will ever happen again, love.” He assures her as his hands move up and down her back.

Emily smiles through her tears and wraps her arms around his neck to hug him. He closes his eyes and tightly wraps his arms around her. He inhales her scent as he buries his face in the crook of her neck. Emily tilts her head to the side to give him more room and places her hand on the back of his head to keep him there. Niklaus understands what she wants, and he would be lying if he said he didn’t want the same thing.

“Nik.” Emily gasps as he sinks his teeth into her skin and drinks from her. She lets herself relax in his arms as she runs her fingers through his hair. Niklaus moans softly as he pulls away from her neck. She tastes even better than he remembered, he thinks as he makes eye-contact with her again. The look in his eyes sends a shiver up her spine; he wants her, she can see it. Her lips part slightly as she looks into his eyes; she hasn’t seen his hybrid side yet and the golden glow of his eyes captivates her.

He only just presses his lips to hers when they’re interrupted by Emily’s phone. Niklaus groans in annoyance when they break apart. It brings Emily back to reality and she blushes deeply as she realizes what this was all leading up to. “Sorry.” She whispers as she climbs off his lap and answers her phone. “Hello.”

Niklaus lets his eyes drift up her body and he frowns when he realizes her neck is still bleeding. He curses himself for not healing her right away. He quickly gets up to grab a glass and fills it with a bit of his blood. Emily gives him a questioning look as he hands her the glass but understands it when he gently touches her neck and she sees a drop of blood on his finger.

She sends him a grateful smile as she takes the glass from his hand. “Yeah, I’m still here.” She quickly says as the phone call captures her attention again.

Niklaus watches her frown as she listens to the person on the other end of the line while she sips from the glass. He’s not listening to the conversation; she’ll tell him if it’s important.

“Well, Lucien.” She says and locks eyes with Niklaus. “I’m a little busy right now.” Emily tells him as she downs the rest of Niklaus’ blood and bites her lip as he watches her. “With Nik, of course.” She tells Lucien when he asks her what she’s busy with.

Niklaus smirks at her words and makes his way towards her. He slips one of his arms around her waist and takes her phone with the other. “I think you should let my wife get back to what she was doing, old friend.” He says as Emily wraps her arms around him and rests her head against him.

“Do you know where your wife was a few days ago?” Lucien grins as he thinks he has something to taunt Niklaus with.

“She had dinner with you.” Niklaus answers and the silence lets him know Lucien didn’t expect him to know about that. “Yes, she told me about that.” He says as he looks down at Emily. “But you somewhat interrupted things, so if you don’t mind I’ll get back to my wife now.” He ends the call before Lucien can answer and places the phone down on a table.

“Nothing happened at that dinner.” Emily tells him, and he smiles down at her. He knows nothing happened, otherwise Lucien would have rubbed it in already. He leans down to kiss her and they both smile into the kiss.


	17. Remembering

_St. Petersburg, 1389._

_“Good morning, love.” Niklaus smiles as he watches Emily come downstairs. They’re staying at a house on the outside of St. Petersburg and are fitting in perfectly with the high society around them. He receives a glare from Emily as she stands next to the table where he’s sitting. “Oh, what have I done now?”_

_“I'm not sure, Nik, but I hope I’m wrong.” She says as she puts her hands in her sides and stares down at him. “Elijah was supposed to help me arrange the new books we got, but he didn’t show up. Forgetting something like that isn’t something Elijah would do, so I think you might have something to do with him not showing up.” She explains._

_Niklaus sighs. “It’s for his own good, love.” He tells Emily as he stands up. “He was getting too close with that new witch friend of his. Most of those books were from her, did you know that?” He raises his eyebrows as he looks at Emily._

_“You’re unbelievable.” Emily huffs as she crosses her arms over her chest. “I understood that Kol leaving a trail of bodies was bad and I didn’t say anything with Rebekah, because I know that was a sensitive subject for you, but you cannot dagger Elijah for falling in love with someone!” Her voice raises at the end of her sentence.  
_

_“Falling in love?” Niklaus raises his eyebrows and he looks rather amused. “You think he has fallen in love?” He chuckles as he reaches out to stroke her cheek. “Oh my dear Emily, he has not fallen in love. It is an infatuation that would put us all in danger if don’t put a stop to it. It would only leave my brother hurt in the end if I let it continue.” His patronizing tone only angers Emily more._

_Emily pushes his hand away. “Do not talk to me like I am a child Nikaus.” She hisses and he flinches slightly at the use of his full name; she never calls him that. “What if Elijah had said those things when you wanted to bring me with you? What if he had stopped us from being together? How would you have felt then?” She asks as she looks into his eyes in search of the man that claims to love her and his family but she can’t seem to find him. “You cannot deny your brother his own happiness.” She adds before she turns around and walks away._

_Niklaus clenches his jaw as he watches her walk out of the room. He assumes she is doing this to give them both a chance to calm down and things will return to normal when she gets back. He turns out to be completely wrong; when Emily gets back she acts like he’s not even there. At first he acts as if he’s unbothered by it all, but after spending the third night all alone he can’t do it anymore._

_When he gets up and makes his way downstairs, Emily is sipping a glass of blood as she reads a book. “Emily, love.” Niklaus starts as he approaches her. He’s not even angry at her, he just longs for her attention and realizes he might have overreacted when he daggered Elijah, but he fears that his brother would leave him if he finds a woman that loves him back. He sighs when Emily still doesn’t acknowledge him. “I will take you to Elijah and pull out the dagger.” He says and smiles slightly when she finally looks up at him._

_He leads her to the room where he keeps the coffins with his siblings. On the way he compels a servant to come with them, so Elijah will be able to feed if he wakes up. “Why are there five coffins?” Emily asks as she furrows her eyebrows._

_Niklaus sighs; he knew this moment would have come sooner or later, but that this had to be the first thing she says to him in days isn’t pleasant. “Remember when I told you what I did to my mother?” He starts and Emily nods; it had been the hardest story for Niklaus to tell, especially since Aurora, the last woman he loved, had thrown it into his face. “Well, she is in one of them.” He tells her as he opens the coffin Elijah is laying in and he quickly pulls out the dagger. “The last one contains our brother Finn. He’s been in there since before I met you, it’s for our own good really.” He adds.  
_

_Emily is about to comment on that; she met Niklaus almost 200 years ago, why would he keep his brother locked up for so long? She doesn’t get a chance to say anything though as Elijah speaks up. “Locking Finn up is probably the only good thing Niklaus has done with these daggers.” The older Mikaelson says and Emily turns to him with a smile. He looks a bit pale, but she’s sure that will fade when he feeds. “How long have I been asleep?” Elijah asks._

_“Only a few days, brother.” Niklaus gives him a halfhearted smile and sends the servant in his brother’s direction. “You can thank Emily for that.” He gestures to Emily when he says this before he turns around and leaves._

_“Thank you, Emily.” Elijah nods at her. He doesn’t doubt that she had something to do with his early release, she’s the only one that can make Niklaus see sense. “I hope it wasn’t too much trouble?”_

_“No, not at all.” She shakes her head. “I noticed you were gone a few days ago and confronted him about it. He refused to act, so I refused to speak to him and he only lasted three days.” She smiles slightly. “I’ll leave you to it.” She says as she gestures to the servant and walks away._

* * *

New Orleans, present day.

Elijah smiles at the memory. Emily means a lot to him and his siblings and she had convinced Niklaus to get him, Kol and Rebekah out of their coffins multiple times over the centuries. She was a good influence on Niklaus back then, though she did have her murderous moments but who didn’t after all those centuries, and he was sure she would be good for his brother now.

“Elijah.” A voice woke him up from his thoughts and he looks up to find Thomas and Michael walking into the compound where he is still sitting with Hope. Michael has a bag in his hand that draws Elijah’s attention. “Where is Emily?” Thomas asks him.

“She’s with my brother, so perhaps I can help.” Elijah says as he stands up with Hope in his arms. He doesn’t want Thomas of all people interrupting whatever his brother and Emily are talking about. “What is it?” He asks as he stops in front of Thomas.

“Hernandez left a message.” Thomas says as he gestures towards the bag Michael is holding. “And I don’t think you would want her to see it.” He adds as he nods towards Hope.


End file.
